Love Will Find A Way
by SatanIsMyOneAMBootycall
Summary: Emma and Rodrick were once friends in preschool. But something happened. The two hated each other ever since. Now sophomores in high school will their feeling for each other change or will chaos ensue. Rated T to be safe. RodrickxOC
1. Seven AM Waking Up In The Morning

**EDIT 4/22/13: I revised the first chapter because when I compared this to my chapter now, this absolutely sucked and was unacceptable. So of course, I did what any sane person would do at went back to fix it. So this is the revised version.**

**This is my first Diary of a Wimpy kid story. I hope you enjoy it!**

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><p>It sucks when you wake up the morning after summer vacation is over, and you realize you have to go to school. It sort of throws you off schedule because all summer long you have either waked up later than usual and sit around the house bored or you wake up in a hotel room and get ready to explore the city your in.<p>

During summer vacation, and every other vacation I have, I never set my alarm clock unless I have to be somewhere. So, hearing an alarm wake me up at 6 in the morning was a frightful experience. While I struggled to find the alarm with my hand, I leaned to far over the bed and ended up rolling onto the floor of my room.

My dog, Cody who slept with me last night, started to jump all over me, thinking it was a game. " Cody stop, get off of me." I said laughing. When I got from under the covers Cody started jumping and licking my face.

" Down boy. Stop it, I have to get ready for school." When Cody stopped attacking me with his love, I got up from the floor and headed to the bathroom to shower. I stayed in extra long, hoping that I would miss the first day of school. But unfortunately my mom knew what I was thinking and started to tell me to get out.

I obliged to her wishes, got out of the shower and headed back to my room to change. I went through my closet like a crazy person, as I tried to find something to wear. The downfall of not going to a school with uniforms is that you can never find anything to wear, and when you do it's usually something you have worn already.

But luckily, I have some new clothes that I bought for school. After changing, I went back to my bathroom, and was surprised not to see my brother anywhere. He would at least brush his teeth or something. Oh well, more time for me to spend. I turned on the blow dryer and dried my vibrant red hair then straightened it.

Half way through my makeup session, my older brother, Luke, did the same thing as my mom and told me to get out of the bathroom. He didn't want to be lake for his first day as a senior. I flipped him off from behind the door and continued what I was doing.

I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, my mom offered us breakfast but Luke was all like, " We don't have time to eat breakfast, we're going to be late." I looked at the clock it was clear as day that we had all the time in the world. Luke shoved my backpack into my arms and walked out of the door.

I gave my mom and hug and kissed my dad on the cheek before leaving. " Have a good first day at school Emma." My dad said to me.

" Love you guys." I waved goodbye and headed out the front door. My brother was honking the horn to his car rapidly to speed me up. I stuck my tongue out at him and he pushed me gently in return. Oh how I love my brother even though we fight.

I turned the radio on and we started singing one of the popular songs as he drove down the street. We were having a great time until Luke hit the breaks rapidly. " Hey, every heard of whiplash?" I asked him. We were still in the neighborhood, so why did he stop? I looked around for any clues as to where we could possibly be and when I saw the white van with the words " Loded Diper" painted poorly on the side. The only teenager dumb enough to spell two easy words wrong would be the infamous Rodrick Heffley.

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><p><strong>Like it so far? Well if you do, then I suggest you tell me it in a review. (lol I rhymed) <strong>


	2. Welcome To My Life

**This chapter also has been edited from its original form. When I ****originally wrote this chapter, my grammar was HORRIBLE *shutters* I couldn't stand to look at it. But if you find any mistakes, please note that this was much worse than before. Thank you :)**

Luke got out of the car and went around to go talk to Rodrick. I guess they were friends, even though we aren't. But besides from that, we have to get to school. How embarrassing would it be to be late for the first day of my second year in high school? It seemed like eternity, but Luke eventually came back to his car. The unfortunate part was that Rodrick came trailing behind him. Oh God, I hope he isn't driving with us.

" Emma, you're going have to move to the back this time. Rodrick is coming with us, and he is going to sit in the front with me. You understand, right?" Luke said giving his best smile. I hesitated and looked at my brother then at Rodrick then back to my still smiling brother. I didn't want to move to the back. It isn't fair; I was here first.

" But-" I started, but was cut off by Rodrick.

" You heard him princess, move!" Rodrick snapped at me. I was mad, but still complied and got out of the car. As I was opening the door to the back seat, I could feel Rodrick's eyes on me, watching me intensely. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the smirk he wore across his face. I had the need to slap his silly expression off of his stupid face, but I instead settled for flipping him off. It didn't do much, but I think it got my point across. I would have much rather had my hand go across his face in a very fast motion. I climbed into the back seat and buckled up.

I guess you are starting to wonder what is the 'story' between us. Well, it's like most tragic childhood stories. We were friends, and by the time we hit school we had become mortal enemies. It all started way back in preschool, that's when we were probably the closest. It was like brother and sister. But when 2nd grade came, a boy by the name of Ben Segal joined our class. I didn't like Ben, and I still don't like him, but Rodrick seemed to be attracted to him. He told Rodrick how stupid girls were and that you could contract cooties if you hang out with them too long. Rodrick semi-avoided me, but we still hung out after school and had 'play dates'. We were friends, just not best friends.

Then in the 3rd through 4th grade, he bullied me constantly, along with a few other boys in my class. The result was receiving a black eye from my older brother Luke who was in the 7th grade at the time. I can't describe how mad my parents were at Luke for punching a 4th grader in the face. I came to his defense by telling my parents Rodrick was picking on me. They laughed when they found out and my mom told me Rodrick had a crush on me. I dismissed that idea very quickly. In 5th grade, we packed up and moved to California, L.A. area, because my dad got a new job. I was sad to leave my friends behind; even Rodrick said he was sad to see me go since there weren't any ugly girls in the class now for him and his friends to pick on. Luke almost punched him again, but he ran to his mom. I had the time of my life while living in California for one year. I really did think I was ugly, until transferred to my new school. I even was one of the popular girls in the class. But my dad didn't like his new job, even though he made more money. Him and my mom were about to get a divorce, but luckily they didn't. My dad was fortunate that his old boss gave him back his job. We moved back to Ohio, and I started my middle school with my old friends and Rodrick. We had the same homeroom teacher, and well I don't want to go into every little detail, but if I had to choose one word to describe middle school with Rodrick Heffley, it would be HELL. High school started, and things just became worse, yet better at the same time.

The whole car ride was annoying. My brother and Rodrick kept playing loud heavy metal music. I love rock n' roll, but I just can't listen to heavy metal. My head felt as if it was going to explode. My brother doesn't even like this genre of music. Sadly, this is what I have to deal with. I don't know when Rodrick and Luke became so buddy-buddy with each other. Either Rodrick is doing it to piss me off or Luke is doing it to piss me off, either way I'm pissed off at this point. Most kids cringe at the thought of seeing school, but I praised it. When Luke parked the car, I didn't waste anytime getting the hell out of there. I grabbed my bag and hauled ass to the front entrance.

RODRICK POV.

I don't like waking up early on a school day...scratched that, I don't like waking up early on any day that ends in 'Y'. I got up and went to go take a shower since my last one was sometimes I don't remember. When I was done, I came back to my room, put my clothes on, and fell right back to sleep. Next thing I knew, my mom is yelling at me for not waking up on time. I explained to her that I had already gotten up and showered. When she left, I waited 5 minutes before going downstairs to eat breakfast. After finishing, I grabbed my backpack and walked out the door towards my van. I put the keys in the ignition and turned them. The car started then died. I did this several times until and loud bang came from inside where the engine was.

" What the hell?" I said as I got out of the van. I opened up the hood and was greeted with black smoke, steam, and a wave of heat. This can't be happening to me, at least not now. I turn around when I hear a car stop beside me. Oh great, just my luck, It's Luke to the rescue.

" Hey there prince of perfection. Where's Ms. Emo?"

" Hahaha, nice Rodrick. What happened to your van? I recall hearing you say that it couldn't break down."

" Well I was wrong, it broke down," I ran my fingers through my dark brown hair.

" I bet my sister could find out what's wrong. She's in my car, do you want me to get her?"

" NO! Don't bring that psychopathic freak anywhere near me and my car!"

" Ok, chill. I was going to offer you a ride, but since you called Emma a psychopathic freak, I guess I will just leave."

" Wait, Luke, I'm sorry dude, can I still get that ride?"

" Sure, why not? I could use the human conversation." We walked toward his car and I could see Emma through the window. Her eyes locked in on mine. I stuck my tongue out at her, and she turned her head away in response. Luke opened the door and asked Emma very kindly to move to the back seat. She hesitated on answering then opened her mouth, but I cut her off. I don't have time to be mister nice guy right now.

" You heard him princess, move!" I snapped at her impatiently. She stepped out of the car, and I could help but watch her. I haven't seen her all summer. She changed; her hair was red and skin was a little tanner. For once, she actually looked like a human with blood in her veins than a vampire. She was also taller and skinnier. Emma turned around and looked at me. I didn't care, as long as she is pissed off, I'm happy.

EMMA POV.

As I was waiting outside the school office, so I could get my class schedule and locker number, someone ran into me and we both fell to the ground. Their heavy body was onto of mine, and when I looked to see who it was, I was met with Rodrick's face. God, why him? Why couldn't it have been Aaron Davison from the drama club! Rodrick's friends were laughing at us, I believe. Rodrick looked to see whom he fell on, and when he saw, all he could do was stare. I started to try and push him off of me, but it was of no use.

" Rodrick, get off of me! This hurts a lot!" I whined like a 5 year old. God, I sounded desperate. The message finally processed in his brain and he pushed himself off of me. I got off the ground next and walked into the office. I got my locker number and class schedule, as planned. My homeroom was Mr. Ross, the new teacher at our school; rumor is that he is hot, but also married. Before looking for my locker, I stopped and talked to a few people I knew then went back to locker hunting. As I looked for my locker, I saw Rodrick standing in the middle of the hallway with no friends around him. I walked past him quickly, only to return after he had called my name several times.

" What is it?" I asked making sure I sounded annoyed.

" I can't find my locker," He replied bluntly. Very helpful Rodrick, very helpful. I took his paper and read the locker number to myself. I had to do a double take when I saw the number. His was 598 and mine was 599. Whatever divine being is out there in our universe, he/she sure hates me today. Maybe I should go to church more often. Rodrick leaned over shoulder and looked at what I was looking at.

" Perfect," He said with every amount of sarcasm in his body. He followed me until we reached our lockers. This is going to be very bad, his was on the bottom and mine sat on the top. I think he notice that to, because the next thing he said wasn't pleasant.

" Switch with me, Emma!" Rodrick begged. I smiled then turned around.

" Why should I?" I asked. The odds are so ever in my favor right now.

" Just let me have it."

" Sure."

" Really?"

" No."

" Fuc-come on, I'm taller than you!"

" The locker isn't that short." Rodrick's stupid friends soon showed up. I guess they saw us arguing, and wanted to see what all the commotion was about.

" Hey Rodrick. Emma," Ben said my name coldly. I sneered at him when he said my name. " What seems to be the problem?"

" I want the top locker because I'm taller, but she won't let me have it." Rodrick said almost like a little kid telling his mom that their older sibling won't let them use a certain toy. All of his friends turned to me and looked at me as if I were a criminal.

" You know what? Fine, have it! I don't care!" I stormed off mad as hell. I could hear them giving each other high fives. I walked down the hallway until I saw my best friends. One of my closets friends, Amber, was the first one to notice me. She screamed so loudly, a teacher came out of his classroom to see if everything was all right. I could see Santana tell him that everything was ok. Amber ran towards me and nearly jumped into my arms.

" Oh my God, look at your hair!" She screamed. People stared at the scene that was happening before their eyes, some even smiled.

" Well, you know I like things that are red." We walked back to our other friends, and I greeted them with hugs. " Do any of you have Mr. Ross as homeroom?" I asked.

" Yeah, Sean and I do. You have him as well?" Amber said looking at her schedule. We all passed our schedules around until the bell rang. Amber, Sean, and I said goodbye and headed to homeroom. When I walked into the room, there was Rodrick again. I can't believe I have homeroom with this moron. The final bell rang, and a few minutes later our teacher walked into the classroom.

" Okay, settle down you guys. I'm sorry that I'm late, and I promise it won't happen again," He apologized. So, the rumors were true. He is really hot. Some of the girls sat up straighter in their chairs and the boys seemed to be very unhappy.

" I'm Mr. Ross and this is my first year teaching at a high school. When my wife and I," That earned a groan from some girls, " lived in Utah, I taught at a private middle school. When I was in school, I never liked how my Language Art teacher taught us in high school. It was always so boring, so I have a few plans for you guys and my other classes. I'm also the new drama teacher, so I would like to combine drama with language arts. For example, when we cover Shakespeare's work, I was thinking we could act things out." I guess this class isn't so bad after all. I have two of my closest friends, but to have happiness, you must suffer a bit. My suffering was Rodrick and his friends in the same class also, and Carmen Mitchell. She makes my life a living hell also. Not as much as Rodrick, but it's still a pain dealing with her. All we did was talk throughout the whole class. Before the bell rang, Mr. Ross gave us an assignment. Everyone groaned in protest.

" Hey now! It's easy. All you have to do is find a Shakespeare play, pick a scene, and present it in class tomorrow. Don't bother memorizing it, unless you want to. And it's ok if a couple of people have the same one."

And on that final note, we were sent out of the classroom. The rest of the day went by easy, most of the classes were just orientation. We mostly did the work in class. But I found out that I have Rodrick in all of my classes. Why is life so unfair to me?

" Meet me in the music room. Bring Santana, Sean, Paisley, Chase, and yourself." I told Amber. She ran off to gather our friends. I decided to go to my locker first to get "Romeo and Juliet" Mr. Ross passes out during class. When I came around the corner, I saw Rodrick standing by his locker wit his friends. I walked up to them, trying to hide my growing nervousness.

" Hey, can I ask you a question?" Rodrick asked me.

" What? Can't find the men's room? Maybe that's because you're not a real man." His friends started to laugh.

" Shut up!" He yelled at them. " And I don't need help with that, but what I do need is to ask you something important."

" If it's to go to homecoming, I pass."

" No, it's not that. It's more like I don't like the work they give us and the homework, so I was wondering if you could do it for me please?"

" No."

" Please Emma. For me," He begs in a sweet voice. I just realized that I don't need that book.

" My final answer is no." I start to turn around, but Rodrick grabbed my arm. Oh where is my brother? After struggling with him, he grabbed hold of my tights. I struggled even more, until I heard a ripping sound. The idiot ripped my tights right where my underwear is. He let go of me instant. My face started to get really hot, when his friends started laughing. Rodrick just looked at me with sorry written all over his face, but when Ben came up to him, he started to laugh. But I was the only one who knew it was fake laughter. My eyes became watery and I fled to the music room.

I ran into the room, where my friends were. Amber came up and wrapped her arms around me. " What's wrong? What happened? Why are you crying?" She asked.

" I went to my locker, and Rodrick was there with his friends. We got into a fight and he ripped my tights. Now there's a big hole and you can see my underwear."

" Oh, come with me. I have a pair of jeans in my locker. You can borrow them," Paisley said then took my hand and we walked out of the room with Amber following behind us. We stopped at Paisley's locker first then went into the girls' bathroom. Inside was a group of girls who were smoking. Most popular girl in school, Carmen Mitchell, and her friends turned their heads and looked at us. Paisley handed me her jeans and I walked into a stall. I took off my skirt and tights then slipped on Paisley's jeans. I walked out and handed my stuff to Paisley.

" Like what happened?" Carmen asked me. She could be nice or mean, depending on whom she is talking to. I guess we are like frenemies or something. I don't really care.

" My tights ripped," I told her.

" Then why are you like crying?" Was I really crying? I touched my face and it was a little wet from tears. At least I wasn't bawling like a baby.

" I tripped over a chair and hurt myself," I lied. She doesn't need to be invited into my personal life.

" Don't you already like hurt yourself? Don't you like cut yourself or something? You're like emo, right?" Never in the history of my life have I ever cut myself. I'm not emo, scene, or Goth I like different colored hair, I love Hot Topic and I also love Hollister and Forever 21, and I love every type of music. So what is my eyeliner is a bit thicker than most girls'? I don't care; I love who I am, even though I have a few quirks. Before I could say anything back to her, Paisley grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the bathroom.

" Why'd you do that?" I asked.

" She has some respect for you, since your brother is co-captain on the football team. Loose that respect, and your ass is going to ben handed to you by her." The bell rang, singling that that lunch was over.

" Well there goes my lunch...I barely ate any of my food. What's the next class?" Paisley asked

" P.E." I said.

" Joy to the world," Paisley moaned as she rested her head on my shoulder.

We were running around the track in the shorts that were handed out to us before school started, or the ones from last year. It was optional if you wanted to wear them, but it was still hot from summer and I didn't feel like running in jeans. Our friends Sean and Santana were running with Amber, Paisley, and me.

" Where's Chase?" Paisley asked when she noticed her twin brother was nowhere to be found.

" He's trying out for football because he doesn't want to do regular P.E.," Santana told her." Remember what happened last year?" I remembered from last years P.E. class. Poor Chase.

" Oh," We all said at the same time. Our P.E. teacher, Mr. Lantz, interrupted our conversation.

" STOP LOLLYGAGGING AND START RUNNING!" He screamed at us. We started to run faster around the track.

" Now I want groups made up of two or three people, and start doing push ups when you meet the requirements." We heard him say when we finished the lap. Amber, Paisley, and I got down on the ground and started to do push-ups. I counted how many they did, and they did the same for me. P.E. was over eventually, and we went back to the girls' locker room to change our clothes. After changing, we went to our last class. This was the only class I didn't have with any of my close friends and anyone who annoys me to death. I walked in and took my place by the window. The teacher did what every other teacher did today. He went over what we were going to go over this year and handed stuff we will need for his class. The final bell rang, and everyone got up to leave. Amber met me outside the classroom.

" How was class?" She asked me, as we walked down the hallway.

" Boring as usual. I need to get a few books from my locker," I told her. She followed me to my locker, and there he was again. I hope this won't be a continuous thing. Rodrick had no one around him, but I'm very sure they are somewhere close. I bent down and exchange out my books. When I got up from the floor, I was met with Rodrick's eyes. There was a moment where the world seemed to slow down. His lips moved, but I couldn't hear anything from him. Rodrick turned around and walked away. I felt someone shaking me rapidly. I looked at Amber with a blank expression.

" Emma, are you ok?" She said, but I didn't respond. She shook me with a little more force this time. " Emma!" She yelled.

" What?" I asked. I was so confused right now. What just happened?

" Did you hear what he said to you?"

" Who?"

" Rodrick was talking to you."

" I didn't hear him, what did he say?"

" He said sorry about what happened earlier, and when you didn't respond, he left."

" Sorry, I must have blanked out. Let's just go." We walked out of the school building and down the street. Amber and I reached my house twenty minutes later. We walked through the front door and I called to see if anyone is home.

" Anyone home?" I called out. No response was given. " No one is home; I think Luke is at practice."

" Your parents are barely home," Amber said while pouring herself a glass of lemonade

" Shouldn't you call your parents?" I asked her, as I dropped my backpack on the counter.

" No, my parents don't care much. As long as I come home within two days, they are cool with it. But what I really want to know what is up with you and Rodrick. I didn't want to say anything at school, but you were starring at him," She says then takes a sip of her drink.

" You're wrong, I wasn't starring at him. I happened to be in deep thought, and was just trying to focus-"

" Yeah sure, what ever you say. How many blocks do you live from his house?" I thought for a moment.

" Uh, I think about three or four. I never really count, and I only go over there is when my mom and his mom take me out to go shopping. Remember, she has all boys."

" That's sad."

" I know." We worked on homework for the rest of the evening. Amber left before my parents came home, so I ran up stairs and took a quick shower. When my parents came home, I didn't feel like eating dinner, so I went to bet early. I couldn't sleep because Rodrick was on my mind all night. God, he even disrupts my sleep.

**Leave a review to tell me what you think. Constructive ****criticism is allowed. Thanks :)**


	3. Hey Juliet

**This chapter was also edited. Hope you enjoy!**

My plan this morning is to wake up earlier than everyone else, and then walk to school. I wasn't going to take the chance of my brother giving Rodrick another free ride again, even though I knew that possibility was very high. I took a short shower, then changed into something warm. By the time I was done getting my self-ready, it read 6:45 A.M. on the clock in the kitchen. It's too early to leave; I don't want to get there when school opens. I would possibly be the only one there.

I poured cereal into a bowl, and ate it slowly. My eyes started to close, and that's when I realized waking up early was the worst thing ever. I got up from the table, and dragged myself back to bed. Cody, my lovable dog, jump on the bed and cuddled up next to me. Soon I was dozing back off into dreamland. A land where nothing bad happens, no one gets bullied, school doesn't start till 11, you can eat all you want and never get fat, and the best part of all, and my favorite part, there is no one named Rodrick. I love dreamland.

Unfortunately for me, dreamland didn't last that long, because it felt like when I finally closed my eyes, I was opening them again. My alarm clock was going off like crazy. I turned it off then looked at the time. Oh, it's 7:45. When the time actually registered in my head, I got up and ran downstairs to see my brother Luke standing at the door. He didn't look too happy.

" It's about time you got up. Come on or we're going to be late," he said walking out the door.

" Bye mom, bye dad!" I yelled to them then left also. I got into the front seat of my brother's car, but before making myself comfortable, I asked him a question, " Is _he_ going to be riding with us?" My brother nodded his head, and I moved to the back seat.

" Don't worry, tomorrow Josh and I are going o go over to Rodrick's house, and fix his car. You can come if you want." I rolled by eyes.

" I'll think about it." We pulled up to Rodrick's house and waited a long time for him to come out. Luke kept suggesting that I go up and ring the doorbell. That will never happen. Rodrick soon came out, and sat in the back with me. We looked at each other, and then I looked away. _'Don't look at him, don't talk to him, and especially don't think about him,'_ I thought to myself. I moved my body away from his the best I could. No one, not even social butterfly Luke, spoke for the entire ride. I couldn't help but turn my head to see what Rodrick was doing. When I looked at him, he was looking at me. My eyes widened as we looked at each other. I guess we were having a starring competition now, how fun.

" Hey Romeo, Juliet. We're here," Luke said. I looked away from Rodrick, and realized that we were at school now. I got out of the car, and walked towards the building.

" I won!" Rodrick shouted at me. I guess he was referring to our 'starring competition' that took place in the car. I walked past my locker, not wanting to bother with it since so many bad things happened while there, and went straight to class. I entered the room, and without hesitation, went straight to my two already seated friends, Sean and Amber.

" What happened this morning? You're usually early?" Sean asked me. I sighed then sat down on beside him.

" I woke up early then fell back asleep, and didn't wake up again," I explained to them. I took my notebook and book out of my bag, and placed them in front of me.

" What Shakespeare play did you choose?" Amber asked, pushing Sean to the side. I was going to answer the question, but the bell's ringing got in my way. Rodrick and his other friend slipped into the room shortly after the bell rang. Mr. Ross didn't seem to notice.

" So class, how was last night's homework? Easy? Does anyone want to volunteer to read theirs first?" No one raises his or her hand, big surprise. Mr. Ross looked around the room; disappointment was written all over his face. " Really, no one? Come on guys, work with me," he pleads then starts to walk up the aisle. " If you did the homework, raise your hand." Almost all of the teenagers, with the exception of three people, raised their hand in the air.

" I can tell by the raise of hands that most of you did your homework. Now, tell me why aren't I getting the same number of hands when I asked who wants to volunteer to go first? I promise, no one will laugh at you."

" I volunteer," A tiny voice from the back of the room spoke after Mr. Ross finished speaking. Everyone turned around in his or her seat to see whom the first victim is. To everyone's surprise, it was Ruby Sarsen. Ruby was the tiniest, skinniest, shortest girl in the whole school. If you put her next to any of the jocks at school, she looked like a toddler next to a giant.

As she made her way to the front, Mr. Ross took his place next to the window. " Before presenting, say the name of the play, the act and scene." Were Mr. Ross's final words, and then he let her speak. Ruby did the scene from "Romeo and Juliet" where Juliet is in her bedroom contemplating whether to drink the potion. She stuttered at first, but quickly got use to talking to us. She was good, but barely anyone clapped for her. More and more students volunteered to present, and after each presentation, Mr. Ross would give us a little history about the play.

" Emma," Mr. Ross called my name. I looked up from my notebook and stared at him. He motioned for me to come to the front. I grabbed my paper and walked up there.

" I chose Shakespeare's " Merchant of Venice" it's Act III. Scene I. " I glanced over at Amber, and she gave me thumbs up for encouragement. Like that was going to be any help. I took in a deep breath and started. **(I actually did this for my Shakespeare play in 8****th**** grade. I changed it from another one to this the night before I was going to present. For some odd reason I had this in my head and couldn't get it out. Anyway if you wanted to know, I got an 80% on it. I was really nervous and was trying to pronounce this one word correctly…you probably don't want to hear/read about my school life.)**

" To bait a fish withal: if it will feed nothing else it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what is his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not Jew eyes? Hath not Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subjected to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction."

God, that took longer than I had expected. The class clapped weakly, like they had done with everyone else. I went back to my seat and sat down. A few more people went until no one raised their hand to volunteer. Mr. Ross made his way back to the front of the room.

" Who hasn't gone yet?" He asked looking around the classroom. No one raised his or her hand. " I know some of you haven't gone. Trust me, I counted." There was laughter coming from the back of the room, and once again everyone turned around to whom it was. This time it was no surprise to see Rodrick and his friends goofing around.

" Rodrick, " Mr. Ross said loudly," would you care to share your play with the class?" The laughter stopped.

" No, actually I would care," Rodrick responded snarky.

" Did you do it?"

" Yeah I did, but-"

" Then what are you scared of?" There was a faint sound of laughter coming from parts of the room. Rodrick got out of his seat, and shuffled his way down the row of desks slowly. When he got to where I was sitting, I stuck my tongue out at him, and Rodrick immediately looked at Mr. Ross. His back was turned to us, so Rodrick took his chance, and snatched my paper off of the desk I was sitting at. When I tried to each out and grabbed him, I ended up missing his arm and falling onto the floor. Just perfect.

" Um, mine is the " Merchant of Venice" thing. Yeah, whatever." People laughed at him, and Mr. Ross shushed us. Rodrick started to read the monologue _I_ printed out, and it was entirely horrible. I really wanted to slam my head onto the desk right now. When Rodrick was finished, his friends gave him a standing ovation. On his way back to his seat, Rodrick gave me the paperback. The bell rang, and our teacher yelled over all the students.

" No homework for the weekend. Have a nice day," he called out as we left the classroom. Sean, Amber, and I walked to my locker, and I was literally praising God for making sure Rodrick wasn't here right now.

" What Rodrick did was pretty low," Sean commented. I slammed my locker door closes, stood up, and faced my friends.

" Emma, calm down, you almost look like a tomato," Amber said as she wrapped her arms around me. I pushed her away.

" How can I? That stupid, no good, crazy-"

" Handsome, awesome, super cool Rodrick is so hot!" Rodrick said from behind me. His impression of how I sound was so far off, it wasn't even funny. " Thanks Emma, you're a real life saver." He rustled my hair then walked in front of me. I was so mad, that I kicked him in the shin then walked off to my next class. His howls of pain could be heard down both ends of the hallway.

I sat in the back of class this time with my head down for the whole time. When class was over, Amber had to pull me to my feet. " Come on let's go Amber said dragging me behind her. I groaned loudly, but moved to the next class only to do the same thing again. Our teacher yelled at me, and I almost said something back, but Amber stopped me.

My friends and I were walking to the cafeteria when I stopped them halfway. " Can we go to like Panera or Starbucks or something?" I pleaded with them. It was like a ritual for us to go to Panera and eat sometimes. And it was only Amber, Sean, Paisley, and I this time. Santana and Chase were nowhere to be found.

" OK, but who's going to drive? I'm wearing boots with heels, and I will not walk long distances in heels," Paisley complained.

" Followed me," I said then led my friends to the locker that belonged to my brother. I opened it, and pulled his keys out of his backpack. I held them up victoriously.

" You don't have a license," Sean mentioned.

" And you don't know how to drive a car yet," Amber added. I threw the keys back in the locker and closed it.

" Fine, just forget it." I said sinking to the floor.

" Honestly, I don't feel like eating at a place like Panera, Cheerleading try outs are after school today," Paisley said. I shot up from the ground quickly.

" What?"

" Just for fun, don't freak." My last two options were Sean and Amber. Sean shook his head no, but I guess Amber was really hungry because next thing I knew, she grabbed my arm and dragged me down the hallway. I waved goodbye to our two friends.

As we walked, I kicked a rock down the street while Amber played with my shiny red hair. " I still wonder how long it took you to get it this red," She said.

" It wasn't really a long process. My hair color started to fade, and turn back into blonde. I had it dyed a month before school started, and dyed it again the week before school. But I was thinking of going pink. What do you think?" I asked my bubbly friend.

" Your hair would look like COTTONCANDY!" She yelled. We laughed the rest of the way to Panera. We entered through the two doors, and were met with a long line. I expected this since it was lunch. We waited for about 5 minutes before being able to order food.

" Can I have a broccoli and cheese soup, with lemonade, and a toasted bagel with cream cheese?" I asked the man at the register. He typed in my order, and I paid for my meal. I waited for Amber to finish paying then we went to go find seats, but it was hard since it was full. We finally found a table we could sit at. Our food arrived shortly after, and we began to feast on our lunch.

Amber looked up from her food and stared right past me. She started to speak really slowly and quietly," Don't look now, but trouble is here." Oh hell no, she's not serious. Forgetting what Amber said, I turned around to see Rodrick and Matthew, a junior, walk through the door. Matthew looked at me then tapped on Rodrick's shoulder. I turned around hoping he wouldn't notice me. But if you are a girl with bright red hair, you are sure to be noticed easily. In a matter a seconds, Rodrick and Matthew were at our table standing in front of us.

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	4. What Makes You Beautiful

**More edits! I love ****editing! Haha, anyway hope you like this chapter.**

If Matthew and Rodrick thought we would give them a warm welcome, then they thought warm. I glared at Rodrick and Amber looked at the two sloppily dressed teenager hoodlums in disgust.

" What are _you_ doing here? This place is to civilized for Neanderthals such as yourselves," Amber said bitterly. The boys shrugged it off and started to pick at our food. I smacked Rodrick's hand away.

"We just came in to pick up some food before going," Matt said. Wait what? I'm confused. Matt saw the face I made and explained, " We aren't going back to school for the rest of the day," He said slowly.

" You're skipping?" I asked him.

" No shit Elmo, that's what he just said," Rodrick answered my question if the rudest way possible. I hated that nickname. I think it's time to go, but Amber asked another question.

" Where are you guys going?" I was for sure going to bang my head into the table. I don't think Amber understood how badly I wanted to get away from Rodrick

" We're going to a fair that's just a few miles away. Why don't you come with us?" Matt offered. Amber's face beamed with joy. What is going on here? A few seconds ago, Amber looked like she wanted to kill them. Now she's all gung ho about going with them. I got up to leave, but Rodrick sat down in my seat then pulled me onto his lap.

" Two lovely ladies like yourselves must want to do something fun?" Rodrick whispered the word fun into my ear. This is defiantly unacceptable! I shot up from Rodrick lap and headed towards the bathroom. When I opened the door, someone pushed me in from behind. I turned around to see that it was Amber.

I glared at her. " Have you gone mad? I could of hurt myself!" I yelled at my BFF. She yelled right back at me, and I was sure if you were a person walking by the bathroom door, you would think we were both crazy.

" Have you gone mad, Emma? We have the chance to skip school and doing something fun for once. School is boring at the end of the day, and besides teachers are too tired to check to see if you're even there," She whined and looked at me with puppy dog eyes after her rant. I wasn't going to give in this time to puppy dog eyes.

" My answer is 'no'. You can go with them, but I'm not going to miss school for some stupid fair." I started for the door, but she blocked my way. " Amber, move now," I ordered her. She stood her ground firmly then her facial expression softened.

" This isn't about skipping school, is it?" She asked.

" Yes it-" Amber cut me off.

" It's about Rodrick, right?" She read right through me. I sighed, ran my fingers through my hair, and looked towards the ground.

" Yeah. It's mostly him," I confessed. Amber came up and put her hands on my shoulders. I looked at her.

" Just pretend Rodrick is like someone else, for a few hours. Like you haven't even known him. Pretend he's the cute, mysterious, rebellious, jackass kid at out school that all the girls want." I tried to imagine Rodrick as that, but it only made me laugh. Only some of the girls want Rodrick. And usually they are the weird ones.

" Gross, but if it makes you happy then I'll go. Besides, I can't let my bestie go to a fair without me." Amber smiled, and we walked out of the bathroom. When we came back to our table, any food we hadn't finished eating before was gone now. I really wanted to finish my soup.

" Ok, we'll go with you guys," Amber said smiling.

" Great! Come on we're going to take my car," Matt said after the got up from the table and led Amber outside. I looked back at Rodrick, and he was right behind me. '_Pretend to like him just for a few hours_' I told myself. We walked outside together, and then got into the car. Matt and Rodrick were up front, while Amber and I were in the back. Matthew started his car then went straight for the highway.

" So where is this place exactly?" I asked.

" Up in West Point," Rodrick replied.

"West Point?" Amber and I said at the same time. I looked at her hysterically. I think I need to lie down for a while.

" You said it was only a few miles from here," Amber practically screamed at him. I could see Matthew wince at her voice.

" A few could mean 70, sometimes," Matt tried to make it sound not so bad. I fell onto Amber's lap. This was going to be one long car ride. Amber thought it would be a good idea if we listened to some music instead of sitting in the car playing 'I Spy'. She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward. She came up behind Matthew so fast, that she scared him.

" Can you please sit down?" He asked her. Amber showed her defiance by pressing through the radio stations until a familiar song came on. Amber turned around and looked at me with the most retarded smile she could every possibly have on her face as the beginning of " What Makes You Beautiful" starts to play. She sits back down in her seat and started to sing a long. After a few seconds, I started to sing along with her.

" Baby you light up my world like nobody else. They way that you flip you hair gets me overwhelmed. The way you smile at the ground, it ain't hard to tell. You don't know oh-oh. You don't know you're beautiful!" Surprisingly the boys joined in with us, and we all sand along in the car. Ok, so maybe this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

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	5. County Fair

**I just got back from the Del Mar fair. I totally get how Emma feels in this chapter :P Enjoy! Also HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! 'MUUUURICA! lol, jk. **

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><p>I sang along to a few more songs, but started to become tired as the minutes passed. Amber took notice of my singing absence, and let me lay down in her lap. She asked Matt to lower the volume on radio a bit, while I slept. Amber tried singing me a lullaby; I didn't think it would make me fall asleep, but it did. Within a few minutes, I was fast asleep on her thigh.<p>

Amber chose the most disturbing way of waking me up while I was still asleep. She took her index finger and began to poke me in the cheek with it. I opened my eyes, and glared at her. She smiled sweetly at me, and stroked my hair.

" We're here, sleep head," Amber cooed in a quiet voice. I sat up, and looked outside the window. She was right; we were at the fair. The only problem was that we are still in the car, and Rodrick and Matt were not with us.

" Where did those juvenile delinquents scamper off to?" I asked. When Amber didn't answer after a few seconds; I turned around to look at her. She was twirling a lock of her hair between her fingers, while looking out the other window.

" Amber…" She looked at me innocently. " Where are they?" I asked again.

" When we got here; you were still asleep, so I told them to get the tickets, and by the time they came back you will be awake."

" Are they paying for all of us?"

" No, I had to give them the rest of my money."

" Then how am I getting a ticket? My wallet is right here," I said as I reached into my back pocket. The funny thing was that I didn't feel my wallet or my phone. I started to go crazy.

" Yeah, Rodrick sort of…" I turned and looked at her.

" Rodrick sort of what?" I asked.

" He took your wallet and your phone," Amber said quickly. I leaned back on the leather chair, and looked up to the roof of the car.

" As a friend, how dare you let him take my wallet and phone? Actually, how dare you let him touch me?!" I shouted at her then reached for the door handle to open it. When I pulled, it didn't open like it should. I continued to pull at it rapidly until Amber pulled my arms away.

" We're locked inside the car," I was about to comment on that, but Amber covered my mouth with her hand," I tried and tried, Emma. When they didn't come back after 10 minutes, I started to get worried. Then when I tried the leave, the door wouldn't open. It's one of those that can't be opened from the inside."

" And Rodrick has my wallet and phone so we can't call for help. This is terrible; I told you it was a bad idea to come with them." I lie back down on the seat, and turn so that my feet faced the window. I really hope this works. I began to kick at the window with my feet repeatedly.

" Emma, what are you doing?"

" My dad and I watched this show about stupid criminals, or something like that. There was this one woman who broke a window in the back of the police car by kicking on it with her feet."

" Did it work?"

" Yeah, she broke the glass, but she didn't get away." Amber shrugged then got next to me, and started kick as well. We kicked for a good 5 minutes, but window didn't even crack.

" I don't think we are strong enough, and have the same determination of escape as she did," Amber finally said, " but this is one hell of a workout." We laughed then I got up and started to look around the car for anything that might break the window. I climbed into the front seat, and opened up the glove department. Inside were balled up papers, mostly failed tests from last year, trash, a candy bar, and a screwdriver. This will be perfect. I went back to the back seat to break open the window.

" Back up a little," I asked her. Amber watched from the other side of the car, as I pressed the screwdriver into the edge of the window and pushed. A few seconds later, the glass shattered into a spider web type pattern. I looked back at a smiling Amber. I smiled back then kicked the glass out. I put the screwdriver in my back pocket then climbed out through the open window. People who were walking by gave us weird looks as we exited the car. I didn't care what people thought about us. I only cared about getting my phone and wallet back. We ran toward the ticket booth and waited until it was our turn.

" How many?" The man asked.

" Two adults," I replied.

" That will be $24.26." I dug in my pockets for any money I might have had, but I had none. I looked at Amber with a worried face. She dug in her pocket, but also couldn't fine anything. I turned back to the man,

" We don't have any money," I told him.

" No money, no ticket, no entry. Next please," He said snobbishly. We stepped out of line and sat on the curb.

" I guess we are just going to have to wait for them to come out," Amber said with defeat in her voice. No. I'm not giving up that easily.

" I'm not going to wait for those two asshats to come out whenever they want. You and I are going to get in that fair one way or another. I will die trying if I have to." Ok, so I'm not actually going to die trying; I got too caught up in the moment. I pulled Amber up from the curb, and went around the side of the fence that bordered the fair. Amber kept turning around to see if anyone was following us, while I inspected the fence. I put my hands on the wire, and looked up to the top.

" You're not actually going to climb this thing?" Amber said as she stood by my side. I put on my most serious face and looked at her.

" Correction. We are actually going to scale the fence," A smile spread across her face. Now we are back on the same level of thinking.

" Let's do this." We high-fived then started to climb towards the top. There wasn't any of that barbwire at the top of the fence, so it was easy climbing over. We jumped the rest of the way down, since it wasn't that tall. We easily maneuvered over obstacle one; now it's on to find Matthew and Rodrick. Those two clowns can't hide forever.

Amber and I walked alongside the tents until we found a flap that was open. We ducked under it, and on the other side was one of those carnival games. No one was in the tent, and no one was playing. It was another easy win for us. We jumped onto the table and walked across it like how I saw someone do it in a movie. Well, I attempted to do that. The table was wet, so I ended up slipping and falling into the grass. After Amber was done with the giggle fit she was having, she helped me up from the ground. We then walked around most of the fair looking for the two boys. I know it's a big place, but we should have seen them by now.

" Maybe they went back to the car," Amber suggested. I shook my head.

" No, knowing Rodrick; he probably talked Matt into spending our money to get themselves inside and spend the remaining money." I wouldn't have mind if they ditched us, because we could have always enjoyed the fair by ourselves, but since Rodrick took our money we couldn't buy tickets to go on rides and we couldn't pay to play any of the games. We looked around some more until I saw Rodrick standing at one of the tents.

He was playing the game he was at just a few yards from where we were standing. Rodrick was concentrating on the game so hard; he didn't notice us standing there. This made it a perfect time to get revenge, or at least get close enough to him. The man at the game handed a medium sized stuffed brown teddy bear. Rodrick his prize, and smiled at it victoriously.

" Rodrick!" I screamed his name. He jumped at the sound then looked around before meeting my glare. His eyes widened, as if he just saw the world explode from the moon. I took a step forward, and he took off running with teddy bear in hand. I ran after him with Amber running behind me. I had to push pass people, just to maneuver through the crowd. I could hear Amber apologize to them, from behind. He was easy to spot, since he was the only person running through a crowd of walkers. When I got to a corner, I seemed to have lost him. How do you loose someone who is 5'11"? Amber eventually caught up to me. She breathed in and out rapidly, trying to catch the breath she had lost.

" Amber, can you stop breathing so loudly? I can't hear myself think of where Rodrick could have possibly ran off to. You know, have a better idea. Why don't you stop breathing all together?" She glared at me then was finally able to catch her breath.

" How can you run that fast for so long, and not get tired?"

" Easy. One: I'm a track star and never get tired, Two: I'm in MUCH better shape then you right now, and Three: I'm on a mission to hunt down a certain boy. I have no time to be tired or breathe."

" Bullshit," she panted. I smiled then went back to walking around looking for Rodrick. I totally forgot Matt was here until I saw him sitting down at one of the table eating a hotdog. Amber and I smiled at each other then walked over to him. Amber sat on his right and I was on his left.

" Hey Matt," I said casually. He kept calm, unlike his partner in crime who fled the scene instantly, " Where's Rodrick?"

" I'm not going to tell either of you," he said with the smell of hot dog breath and garlic. Who puts garlic on a hotdog? I nearly gagged at the smell and thought.

" Why not? Does he have Emma's wallet and phone?" Amber asked him.

" Yeah, that's why I'm not telling you. He ran into me earlier, and said that little miss temper tantrum over here was chasing him down like a dog. Is that true? 'Cause if it is; I would of loved to see it," Matt laughed at me.

" If you see Rodrick again, tell him he's a dead man walking." Amber and I got up and started to walk away when Matt asked me a question that I wasn't prepared for.

" How did you guys get out of my car? You can only open it with a key from the outside." Matt stood up from his seat, and started to walk up to us. My hand immediately went to the screwdriver that was still in my backpack. He's not going to be happy.

" It's actually a funny story…" Amber started off.

" It's a really funny one. You might enjoy it, but right now we are busy, and just can't find the time to tell you how funny the story is." I finished. We walked backwards slowly, as Matthew advanced forward. His facial expression changed from thinking, confusion, horrified, and then to anger.

" You to are de-" We took off before he could finish the sentence. The tables were turned; Matt was now chasing us. When we came to a crossroad in the fair grounds, Amber and I split up. He couldn't chase both on us. After a while of running, I turned around to see if he was behind me. Matt must have gone after the easiest person to chase. Poor Amber. When I turned back around, someone and I collided with each other. I took a step back and rubbed my head.

" Oh my God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" I looked up at Rodrick. " You! I've been looking for you!"

" Yeah, it's me. I've been looking for you also." He rubbed the place on his chest where I hit him.

" I want my stuff back now!" Rodrick looked at me then took my phone and wallet out of his pockets, and handed them over.

" Happy?" He asked. I will never be happy again, after what happened here today.

" How much did you spend?"

" I'm not good at math," was Rodrick's answer. That was code for '_I spent so much money; I don't even know.'_ I looked at him with disbelief then he held out the teddy bear he had won earlier this evening.

" Here," he handed it to me. As I grabbed it, I looked at him puzzled. He sighed then rolled his eyes, " It's for all of the trouble I caused you today." Is he really serious?

" Do you think by handing me a stuffed teddy-bear, it will make up for everything you have done?" I snapped. He winced at my comment, and then put his arm around me. We walked together through the fair.

" I actually thought our relationship was going pretty smoothly, despite a few bumps in the road." I moved away from him as I remembered the screwdriver that had remained in my back pocket since my escape from the car. I pulled it out and pierced the screwdriver into the innocent stuffed bear's neck. It pained me to do this, since the bear was really adorable. I pushed the bear back into his arms and walked away. He came up behind me, and handed the teddy bear to me again. Well, he more like forced me to hold it. Rodrick took the screwdriver out after a few minutes, and a little stuffing came out along with it. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me around with him. At one point he answered his phone, and told Matt that he had found me, but we were going to hang out for a little while. When I tried to protest against that, Rodrick covered my mouth with his hand.

He played a few more games, and won a few more stuffed animals. Guess who was the lucky girl who got to carry them all? That's right, me. Rodrick couldn't help but laugh at the sight of me carrying over 1000 teddy bears in my arms. He eventually started to carry some himself, until a lady at one of the games offered us a plastic bag to carry them in.

" What are you going to do with all these stuffed animals?" I finally asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, " I don't know." I had a bad feeling that I was going to get stuck with all of these things. To avoid that situation, when Rodrick went to go use the bathroom; I started to pass out the prizes to little children passing by. Soon, I was left with the original one Rodrick first got. He didn't seem to really care that almost all of the teddy bears were missing. Besides, I was the one who paid for the games.

We headed towards the back of the fair where the rides were located. I don't really fare well with them. The twisting, turning, spinning, dropping, and sliding of them make me want to throw up. But of course Rodrick insisted that I must go on them. He called me a chicken, coward, baby, and little girl. I didn't take kindly to those insults, and they made me not want to go on the ride even more.

" Don't worry, I'll hold your hand," He tried to talk to me sweetly. It didn't work, but eventually he coaxed me onto the not so frightening ones. At least it didn't seem that frightening until the safety harness dropped over my head and the ride started to escalate to the top. Yes, I was on one of those dropping ones. It's like the Super Scream at Knott's Berry Farm. I immediately started regretting the decision to go on this ride when they started to countdown the drop. I looked over at Rodrick, and he smiled, like actually SMILED, at me. When they said three I grabbed his hand then the ride went down, and my screams went up through my throat and out my mouth. The whole ride consisted of me screaming my head off and Rodrick's laughter in the background.

I was literally SHAKING when we got off of the ride. I crashed into Rodrick's arms, and he walked me over to a bench. He laughed while I rested beside him. I did not find this even remotely funny or entertaining.

" Let's go on a few more. These won't be as bad as that one," Rodrick motioned over to the ride we just got off of. I would have said something, but the need to throw up everything prior to coming here was overtaking my senses. Rodrick waited for a few more minutes before dragging onto the next ride. He was right; this isn't as bad as the last one. Even though I did scream, and hold onto Rodrick, it was only because of how fast the ride was going around in a circle. We exited the ride, and headed over to where some food was. I didn't want to go over there because I couldn't stand the smell of greasy, deep fried food right now. I tried to pull him the other way, but he just kept dragging me along.

" Rodrick, let go," I pleaded with him. He didn't listen to me. We came up to the stand and he ordered some simple food.

" Can I get some fries and a coke," he asked the man. He nodded his head and called out to another person who was working on handing out the orders.

" Is that all?" The man asked Rodrick. He looked down at me for a few seconds.

" Do you want anything?" I was surprised he had the manners to ask me such a gentleman like questions. Even though I was complaining about the food a couple of minutes ago; I haven't eaten anything in a few hours.

" Can I have fries and a lemonade?" I told Rodrick instead of telling the person. Rodrick ordered just lemonade for me.

" That will be $14.58," He said. Rodrick pulled out a twenty from his pants pocket, and handed it over to the man. He gave us our food, and we went to go sit down.

" I wanted fries also," I told Rodrick. He rolled his eyes then pushed the basket of fries in front me.

" It's not the end of the world if we share something. We have shared things before with each other. Like test answers, homework, and play monologues," he mumbled the last part. I sighed then ate the fries with him. I looked up and saw Matt coming into view with Amber slung over his shoulder. Rodrick and I started to laugh as he set her down on the table.

" It's not funny you guys, stop laughing." Amber took one of our fries and started to eat the rest. I guess Amber and Matt had their little own adventure today also.

" It's getting late, I think we should start heading back," Amber suggested.

" Not so fast. There is one more ride we want to go on," Rodrick said smirking. My stomach started to do flips. Of course he would have me eat and drink something before going on another roller coaster. Rodrick must really want to see me throw up.

" It's not a bad one," Rodrick said when he noticed the face I made. We threw away the food then let the boys lead us to the Ferris wheel. Matt and Rodrick had us wait a few feet back as they went to go talk to operator. They came back a few minutes later, and led us onto the ride. Amber and Matt got in one box, while Rodrick and I got in the other. The ride started to move, but then came to a stop when we reached the top. I had a bad feeling about this.

" Look," Rodrick said while pointing to the sky. The sun was setting right now. I pulled out my phone, and took a picture for Instagram. I was messing with the filters when Rodrick got up and sat on the same side as me. I looked up from my phone.

" What's wrong?" I asked when he didn't say anything. He pulled me close to him, and I leaned on his chest as we looked at the sunset. I guess it was one of those rare moments where we are getting along. I didn't want to ruin it by saying anything that might piss him off, and I think he was thinking the same thing also. We stayed that way for the remainder of the ride.

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><p>We left the fair and headed straight to Matt's car. Rodrick was the first to comment about the window. " Dude, I think someone broke into your car," he said pointing at the shattered window. The broken glass was still on the ground, surrounding the car.<p>

" No. Two people actually broke out," Matthew mumbled then unlocked the door. I actually wanted to climb back in through the window.

" Sorry," Amber and I said together. Matt cleaned off any of the broken glass we missed. Amber sat upfront, because she refused to sit next to a broken window, even thought the broken window was originally on me side of the car. Rodrick sat in the back with me on the broken window side. After a few minutes of driving on the empty road, the guys started ask us questions like how we into the fair without money and how we got out of the car. Amber told 99% of the story. I only spoke when a question was directly asked to me. The sky was dark now, and we were barley even close to home. Just like at the beginning of the trip, I fell asleep, but this time on Rodrick's shoulder.

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><p><strong>Please leave a review, and next chapter will be uploaded soon. Have a great summer!<strong>


	6. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

**Like I promised, here it is!**

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><p>I was in the state between sleep and awake, when the car came to a slow stop. Sounds of seatbelts clicking woke me up a bit more, and I realized that we must be at someone's house to drop them off. Possibly Ambers since she was the closest to the highway. Or maybe they already dropped Amber off, and it was my home. A hand pushed my head away, causing me to collapse onto the seat below. A door opened, and I felt someone drag me out of the car then pick my body up.<p>

I decided to finally open my eyes after a couple of seconds. When I looked up to see who was caring me, it was Rodrick. I turned my head to the left, and saw the house that I lived in. All was dark except for the porch light that barley illuminated the house number on the wall. I turned my head back to Rodrick. He looked down at me, and I flashed him a cheeky smile.

Rodrick's reaction resulted in me being dropped onto the cold hard ground that some like to call the sidewalk, or walkway that leads to ones front door. I landed on my back, and cried out in pain for a few seconds, but he didn't seem to care. Who would just drop a person like that? He's such a bastard; I can't believe I was actually having fun with him today. When Matt and Amber walked over my body carelessly, that's when I figured out they were all tired from the drive back. But it's still no excuse to drop a person on the ground.

I pushed myself off of the ground, and caught up to them slowly. All four of us stood on the porch waiting for something, anything to happen. When I looked at them, I noticed that everyone else was looking at me with tired eyes.

" What?" I asked.

" Are you going to open the door, or will we just stand here all night waiting for your parents to do it?" Amber asked me with bitterness all over her voice. She had a good point, so I couldn't complain. I search my pocket for a house key, but couldn't find one. I searched my wallet to see if I put a key in there, but it wasn't in there either.

" What's the hold up?" Rodrick hissed. I looked up from my wallet and glared daggers at him.

" It's probably in my backpack back at school," they all groaned, " Hey, maybe if we went to the fair after school, we wouldn't have this problem."

" Maybe if you didn't go to the fair with us, we wouldn't have this problem," Rodrick started to raise his voice, and so did I.

" You and him were the ones who offered to take us!" I gestured both my hands over to Matthew who was leaning against the side of the house.

" You didn't have to accept our offer! I only offered to take you so it could make up for what happened in class this morning!"

"Well if you weren't such a jackass, slacker then you possibly wouldn't have to steal my work!"

" Will you two just shut up?" Matt screamed. During our argument, Rodrick and I had gotten quite close to each other. I backed away from him, and rang the doorbell of my home. You could hear the faint sound of it from outside. When no one came to open the door, Amber started to pound on it excessively. Eventually the locked clicked, and the door opened to reveal the sleep face of my dad. He looked at all of us through tired, partially angry eyes.

" Emma? What are you doing out so late? Where have you been, and who are all of these people?" Dad questioned me.

" I'm sorry, we went out after school, and didn't get back until now. You remember Amber, right? And this is Rodrick, Mr. Heffley's oldest son, and his older friend Matthew."

" Yeah, I remember Rodrick and Amber. How could I forget Amber?" My dad said solemnly.

" Hey dad!" Amber said boldly from behind me. She was practically family at my house. She called my parents 'mom' and 'dad'. And I did the same thing at her house. Only her parents took it a little more seriously when I called them that. Dad moved aside to let us into my home. The fresh sent of lavender filled my nose. Mom always kept the house very clean, even when my brother and I were toddlers. Our clothes and toys were cleaned daily, and our rooms were never a mess. Well, mine wasn't a mess, but when my brother hit his teenage years; that's when it looked like a tornado went through his room. I don't know if he still keeps his room that way still.

" Liam, what was all of that noise?" My mother asks, as she comes down the stairs in her pajamas.

" It was nothing but Emma and a few of her friends. Go back to bed," My dad reassured her. My mom didn't listen him; instead she came up to us.

"Emma I was so worried about you," My mother said sweetly then pulled me into a hug. But of course after the sweetness comes the yelling. " Where have you been? I thought we made a deal to always text me or you Dad to know where you are and when you're coming home."

" Mom," I whined. She let go of me and looked into my eyes," I was with Amber, Rodrick and Matthew at a fair. I'm not a little kid anymore."

" Until you're eighteen and going off to college I don't want to here it." She scolded.

" Wait, you went to a fair? I read the newspaper and watch the local news almost everyday, and never once did I hear about a fair coming to town," My dad said suspiciously.

" Out of the kindness of my heart, I took your daughter and her friend to the fair as a thank you for helping me with a homework assignment," Rodrick said trying to warm up to my dad. Dad glanced over to me, and I was forced to shake my head in response to what Rodrick was saying. It couldn't be lying because it was partially that truth. My dad, he use to like Rodrick, but ever since he heard from his father about him trying to start and band, and raising all sorts of hell in the neighborhood, he just doesn't trust Rodrick like he use to.

" I guess we could talk about it more in the morning over breakfast, since it's late. Do you kids want to spend the night over?" My mom asked. I prayed that Rodrick and Matt would decline my mother's offer.

" Um…I think it wouldn't hurt to stay the night over. My parent's don't really mind. What about you?" He asked Rodrick. He shrugged his shoulders then answered.

" My mom wouldn't mind since it's with you guys." My mom smiled then turned around to Luke, whom seemed to have fallen asleep on the stairs railing.

" Luke!" Mom called for her son. His head shot up, and looked at her with a blank expression. " You, Rodrick, and Matthew will sleep down here for tonight. Honey, can you stay with them to make sure nothing bad happens?" Dad groaned in response, and led the group of teenage boys into the living room.

As we walked up the stairs, I whispered to my mom, " You just told dad to sleep down here so you could have the whole bed to yourself."

" Exactly, Emma. I'm teaching you Marriage 101 for when you have a husband of your own," my mom patted my head with her hand then went back into the bedroom.

Instead of following me to my room like a normal person, Amber instead went straight for the bathroom to do whatever. Like I said, she is family now. The little girl knows every square inch of my house, after having stayed one week. I changed into a pair of shorts and an old Mickey Mouse t-shirt I had acquired when my family went to Disney Land. Amber came in moments later, and searched under my bed for the duffle bag she keeps here for when she sleeps over. It had a toothbrush, tooth paste, 3 sets of clothes that could be used as pajamas or regular day clothing, a pair of converse, and a hairbrush.

When she was done changing, she joined Cody and me on top of the bed we sleep in. I pulled out a few magazines, and we looked them over for some time until I could hear Amber's stomach growled. My dog tilted his head at the noise. Her stomach growled again, and I knew what she was going to ask next.

" Can we get something to eat?" She asked bashfully. We got out of the bed, and tiptoed quietly down the stairs. When we arrived into the kitchen, Amber started to rummage through my family's food supply, looking for anything delicious she could eat. While she did that, I walked into the living room to check on my dad and the boys. They were all sound asleep. Luke was spread out on the floor next to Matthew, Rodrick laid face up in the couch, and my dad had the recliner. I took out my phone, and started to take pictures of them. The sound of something popping caused me to run back into the kitchen. To my surprise, there wasn't any mess. The noise was popcorn popping,

" You almost gave me a heart attack," I said, as I walked up to Amber. She smiled as she took the bag out of the microwave, and poured it into a bowl.

" Calm your tits, M&M's. I didn't create no nuclear bomb or anything closely related to it. Just some good old fashion popcorn," I laughed along with her then took a few pieces.

" L'Eggo my eggo, bitch! Go make your own!" She hissed then moved the bowl away from my hand.

" You cannot eat all of that by yourself, it's unhealthy."

" Says the person who likes to eat salads with just lettuce and nothing else." I rolled my eyes, and we walked into the living room so I could show Amber how the guys were sleeping. We sat in front of the TV, and watched them while we ate popcorn.

Amber nudged me in the arm and smiled, " I bet you ten dollar I can hit your brother with ten pieces of popcorn, and he won't wake up." I looked at her pitifully.

" You're on," I smiled. She threw one, but it landed short. The next one hit him square in the face. We giggle like little children, and continued to throw popcorn. Once in a while they would stir, but would stay asleep for most of our game.

Amber ceased fire for a moment, " Wait, I got a better idea." She got up and walked into the kitchen, leaving me to throw more popcorn at them. When Amber came back, she had two black Sharpies in hand and a devilish smile across her face.

" You sure?" I asked.

" Yeah. What could possibly go wrong?" I could name a million things that could go wrong with this, but we were just girls who wanted to have fun, and this was perfect payback for locking us in a car. Amber was going to draw on Matt while I drew on Rodrick. Luke and dad's skin was spared from being tainted.

I stared at Rodrick face, trying to figure out what to draw. I turned my head back, and looked at Amber as she loomed over Matthew's body. I tapped my fingernail on the marker until an idea popped into my head. This will be perfect! I took the cap off, and started on my 'masterpiece'. One thing I noticed while drawing on Rodrick's face is that he is a very heavy sleeper. Nothing seems to wake him up, and the same goes for Matt.

Amber tapped on my shoulder when she was done, and had to hold her hand to her mouth when she saw what I drew. I hit her softly then took a look at what she did. Oh Amber, you are such a weird little person. Amber put the Sharpies back where she had found them then we headed back up stairs. I left my bedroom door slightly ajar, and turned the light off.

" Night Amber," I said cheerfully.

" Night Emma. Get it? 'Cause your last name is night," She started to laugh at her own joke.

" Shut up." I took a pillow and hit her in the face. She screeched then kicked me. Eventually, we fell asleep during some part of our kicking frenzy.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter will be up when I get to it. Please do everything you can to tell me you actually like this story. I love you all and have a great rest of the summer!<strong>


	7. Do What I Want

I thought that since we got home late last night, Amber would want to sleep in, but I suppose Amber woke up early because of the smell of food being cooked from downstairs. She body slammed me while I was still in bed asleep, to wake me up. Her and I wrestled in bed for a while until she was able to drag me onto the floor.

" Amber," I growled from underneath her butt. She got off of me and ran downstairs. I pushed myself up and chased after her. We ran into the kitchen, giggling like idiots, in front of my mom.

" Slow down girls, this isn't a playground," she scolded us, " Emma, Amber can you please put these plates on the table for me?" We picked up the plates from the counter, carried them into the dinning room, and set them down on the table. Amber took a few strips of bacon off of one of the plates, and stuffed it into her mouth. She stuck her tongue out, and I snatched one of the strips from her hand then ate it like she had done with the previous ones. My mom shook her head when she came into the dinning room to see already eating.

" To prevent you two carnivores from eating any more bacon, why don't you wake up you farther and the boys," my mom asked as she set down silverware. Before leaving, Amber took one more strip of bacon. We both walked into the living slowly. They haven't woken up yet, and the marker was still on Matt and Rodrick's face. I pointed at them, and Amber started laughing.

I walked over to where my dad was, and tried to wake him up. " Dad, wake up, mom made breakfast for everyone," I said poking him. His eyes opened and replied with a nod of the head. He got up from the chair, and strolled towards the dinning room. I knelt besides Amber who was looming over Luke. She was touching his face, and slapped her hand away.

" Luke, it's breakfast time. You have to wake up." I shook him roughly. He mumbled inaudible words then turned on his side. I stood up and kicked him gently in the back.

" Hey, I'm not a soccer ball!" he barked at me.

" Emma…" Dad's voice was heard from the living room.

" It's breakfast time," I said with a smile. He got up and shoved me backwards.

" Matt, wake up," He said nudging the still sleeping teenager. Matt woke up, and shook Rodrick awake. Amber walked back into the dinning room, and I followed closely behind her. We sat down at the table, waiting for the three boys to show up. Matt and Rodrick sat across from Amber and me, and Luke sat on the left side of me.

" Looks great Mrs. Night. I never get food like this at my house," Matt said. Instead of smiling like usual, my mom starred at him with a confused look. I nudged Amber, and she looked up from her food to see the sharped faces of them. We started to laugh at their marking.

" You two boys got something on your faces," my dad pointed out to them. They started to wipe their faces with the palms of their hands. Luke tried to stifle his chuckling by drinking some orange juice. " Is it gone?" Rodrick asked.

" Nope," Luke smiled, " It's still there. Maybe you should go look in a mirror." Rodrick and Matthew both got up, and ran to the closest bathroom. A seconds later, they were screaming. My mom and dad also got up to go and help them.

" Nice job, both of you," Luke applauded, " Don't worry, I'll take the blame on this. I don't want Rodrick and Matt to kill my little sister and friend over some stupid prank," Luke ruffled my already messy hair. We went back to eating breakfast while the complaints of Rodrick and Matt were audible in the background. My mom came back a few minutes later.

" I don't care how funny this may seem, but drawing eyeliner and polka dots in sharpie on someone's face is…" My mom couldn't finish her sentence because she started to laugh. She sat down across from us after she stopped.

"Who came up with the idea to do this?" She asked.

" It was me mom, sorry," Luke took the blame, but mom didn't buy it.

" I won't tell dad it was you two. The story is I dared you both to do it for a trip to the mall," Amber and I nodded our heads, " Finish your breakfast." My mom got up and left again. We were finished by the time Matt and Rodrick came back. You could see the faint dot marks on Matt's face and the eyeliner and stitching was somewhat faded on Rodrick's face. Neither of them looked happy.

" I was able to take a good majority off, but you boys will have to wash your faces every day for it to fully come off," My dad said. " That's going to be hard for Rodrick, 'cause he only takes a shower once every week. And his mom has to force him to do it," My side note made my brother and Amber laugh like hyenas.

" Actually, I take a shower only three times a week." My mother cringed, and I knew she was thinking how lucky she was that Luke takes a shower every day. As a 'punishment' from my dad, Luke, Amber, and I had to wait for Rodrick and Matt to finish their breakfast before leaving. And even after finishing, we _all _had to clean the dishes.

My parents left us alone in the kitchen, after supervising for a while. Seconds after my parents left, Rodrick started a water war with Matt and Luke. Amber tried to break it up, but only ended up taking part in their 'battle'. I stayed away from all of them, since I as the only person who did not want to get wet.

" Kid, we're leaving. Both your father and I have some work to finish up. We'll be home later," Mom yelled from somewhere in the house. Luke and I said goodbye from where we were, and the water war continued when the sound of the door shut. Rodrick thought this would be a great time to get me back from last nights events, since I had no parents to go run and complain to at the moment. As the cold water from the sink hose hit my skin, I screamed like any other surprised person would.

" Rodrick, turn the damn thing off!" Eventually the water was turned off by one of the three people who decided enough-was-enough. I was dripping in head-to-toe in water, just like everyone else, and the whole kitchen floor was nearly flooded. I am about ready to kill someone right now.

" What are mom and dad going to say when they see this mess!" I directed my full attention to the oldest person in the room. Luke leaned the against the kitchen wall, and pondered it over for a few moments.

" Look, calm down. Matt, Rodrick, and I will clean it up," the two teenage boys groaned, " Why don't you and Amber go dry yourselves off; you can even take a shower. And by the time both of you come back, everything in the kitchen will be back to normal. Luke escorted Amber and me out of the kitchen, and towards the stairs. I looked back at him before going up. He smiled and waved goodbye.

Amber dashed into the bathroom, while I sat alone in my room awaiting her arrival. Amber was done in less than 15 minutes, and now it was my turn.

" Your shower is so nice," she said as I was exiting the room. I ignored her comment and kept walking into the bathroom. I took my clothes off and stepped into the shower. Hot water hit my skin at a steady place, and it felt very relaxing. I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair, turned the shower off, and stepped out of the tub. I brushed my teeth, rung my hair out one last time, and then stepped out of the bathroom. As I was walking out, I bumped into Rodrick.

" Ugh, I'm getting tired of this Heffley. Watch where you're running, or just stay in one place," I told him as I walked towards my room. I could see Amber's head peer out from the side of the door.

" Maybe you should watch where you are walking," he mumbled. " It's my house! I don't need to be watching anything; only you do!" Rodrick ran back downstairs, while I returned to my room.

" Connecting with Rodrick again, I see. You two seem like a good match," Amber said as she attempted to clip her bra in place.

"Shut up. You don't know anything about us. Besides, I'm not interested in boys like him." I picked up my brush from my bead, sat down, and started to brush my wet hair.

" Then what are you interested in?"

" Tall, handsome, mysterious, loyal, brave, sophisticated, romantic, gallantry, and etcetera. All of those things Rodrick are not, my dear Amber."

" And if he were?" I thought about it for a few seconds.

" Then I guess we might still be friends, but that is a bunch of bullshit anyway. Besides, it's not like prince charming is going to show up any time soon. Until then, I am stuck in high school with immature boys."

" Success!" Amber cheered. He bra was finally clipped together," Maybe you should give Rodrick a chance." I walked up to her and pulled her bra strap backwards then let it go. It hit her skin then unclipped.

" Damn you Emma," She cursed. I laughed then started to change into some clothes. I put on a pair of shorts, yellow tank top, and tied my hair into a ponytail. Amber wore shorts and hoodie. I had to brush Amber's hair for her, because she was too lazy to do it.

" Come on Cody," I said to the dog that was sprawled across my bed. He leaped out of the bed then ran out of the room. Amber and I walked down stairs. Nobody seemed to be home at the moment. Luke's car was gone, but there was a note of the front door.

'_Hey Emma! We went over to Rodrick's house to fix his car so he doesn't have to drive to school with us anymore. Come over if you're in the mood, and make sure you walk Cody and Cerberus.' –Big brother Luke/future NFL player. See you at the Super Bowl! _And then at the bottom was his signature.

" Does he always put that at the end of every message?" Amber asks.

" No, it's just a joke between my family, and he sometimes does it with his girlfriend." I clipped Cody's leash onto his collar and tossed the other leash at Amber. She caught it with ease.

" What's this for?"

" You heard big brother, we have to walk the dogs. Go get Cerberus from the backyard."

" Come with me," Amber whined then grabbed my hand. She was really frightened of my dog; even though I told her a thousand times he's just a big grumpy sweetheart. We stepped into our backyard and looked around for Cerberus.

" Cerberus," I called for him. I dropped Cody's leash, and he sniffed out his companion. Cody perked his head up as a rustling noise came from the bushes. Amber hid behind my back as Cerberus appeared out from under the bushes with something in his mouth. He stopped at my feet and dropped the object.

" Oh my God, it's a dead bird!" Amber screamed then ran back inside my home. Cerberus chased after her, and her screaming continued. Cody smelt the dead bird then looked up at me. I took his leash and walked back inside. Amber was on top of the kitchen counter while Cerberus was on the floor starring at her. She mouth 'help'. I rolled my eyes and clipped the leash onto Cerberus. After grabbing my house keys and phone, I checked to see if Amber was ready. She was still sitting on top of my counter, eating a bag of chips.

" Get your fat ass over here," I told her. She put the bag down and skipped over towards the door. I handed her Cody's leash then we left. We walked up and down the blocks, until we got to Rodrick's house. His little brother, Greg, was outside playing with his friend Rowley.

" Hey Greg. Hey Rowley," I greeted the preteens.

" Oh, hey Emma," Greg said casually. His friend waved his hand, acknowledging our presence. Amber and I stood in awkward silence as the two young boys petted my dogs.

" Is Rodrick or my brother here?" I asked him after I took notice of the absence of Rodrick's car. Luke's was sitting at the curb, looking untouched. Greg hesitated for a while.

" Yeah, I think they took it to one of the car repair places."

" Thanks Greg." Amber and I started to walk away from them, but Greg ran in front of us.

" You can come inside and wait for your brother," he suggested. I looked at Amber, and she shrugged. We didn't have anything to loose by coming in. Greg led us to the front door and held it open for us. He's so more of a gentleman than his older brother. I respected that he didn't follow in Rodrick's footsteps. Inside was quite, unlike when I was here when I was a little kid.

" You're going to have to take your dogs outside." I nodded my head then let them out through the back door. Cody sprinted off while Cerberus walked away from me casually with a few looking back. He seemed unsure about this. I walked back towards the dinning room where everyone else was sitting. We all sat in silence, except for my finger tapping. Amber kept making weird faces at me, trying to get me to laugh. It wasn't working.

" Do you guys want to play a game?" Rowley asked with a little too much excitement for my taste. He cried out in pain as if someone had kicked him from under the table. I guess Greg kicked him.

" I'm down for a game. How about you, Emma?" Amber turned to me. Greg's face looked puzzled as if he didn't think high schoolers don't like games.

" I'm down, but what type of game are you thinking of?" I flashed Greg a smile, and he started to become nervous and stutter.

" What about that game we played over at Santana's house over summer?" Amber suggested. Can she be more specific?

" Amber, we played a variety of games. Can you be more specific? Was it tag, man hunt, paintball, water wars, baseball-" Amber cut me off.

"Yeah it was water wars!" She beamed with joy. I thought about it for a moment. It was still hot enough to play with water.

" Greg, do you own any water guns or balloons?" I asked him.

" Yeah, but Rodrick keeps them in his room."

" What's water war?" Rowley asked. Amber tried to explain it to him but she kept getting confused.

" Basically, you take a water gun or balloons, and your team mates have 1 minute to hide yourselves and your team flag. After the minute is up, anything can happen. The object of the game is to capture the other team's flag, but if you get shot with water-"

" You're out," Greg attempted at trying to finish my sentence.

" No, let me finish. You can get shot with water, but at the end if you're soaked from head-to-toe in water then your team automatically looses even if you have captured the flag.

" That sounds fun, but we still don't have any water guns." I got up from the table, and started to go up the stairs to Rodrick's room. He needs to learn to share.

" Emma, you can't go in there?" Greg said from behind me as I reached for the doorknob to Rodrick's room.

" Why not?"

" Rodrick will _kill_ you if he catches you in his room," Greg whined. I ignored him then opened the door to Rodrick's room. Greg's cries grew louder as I stepped inside. I do what I want when I want. I wasn't afraid of Rodrick. When I stepped in, it didn't look that bad…oh wait never mind. This was bad, no wait it's not bad; it's completely horrifying. The smell was horrific.

" Oh my God," Amber squeaked from behind me.

**Please review and I will update soon.**


	8. Radioactive

Magazines, unwashed clothes, junk, and other unknown objects were scattered around Rodrick's room. What sane person would live in this type of condition for so long? It's completely unsanitary, no wonder he can never keep a steady relationship with a girl. They must become so overwhelmed by the looks and smells of his room. The weird thing about it was that I had an urge to clean up his mess. I may hate him, but I would never want any person to live in these conditions.

" Amber, this is not cool. Help me clean and organize his room, please," I begged her. She nodded with a smile across her face. It was nice to know that someone else shared the same urge as me. I ran back down the stairs and closed the attic door behind me. Greg would completely spaz out if he knew what we were up to.

" Emma!" He whined from behind the door. His cries were once again ignored, for we had something much bigger to pay attention to. There was so much to do in so little time.

" Maybe we should clear an area right here, and grab any dirty clothes then place them in this spot," Amber said. We cleared a small area then started to pile up all of the clothes we could find. I looked around the room for any more clothes then pulled off the bed sheets, and places them in the dirty clothes pile. Amber ran downstairs to grab trash bags. Yes, we need not one, not two, but many, many trash bags for all of this crap.

As I was going through some of Rodrick's junk, such as failed tests from god knows when, water guns and balloons, adult magazines (bastard), CDs, and our science project from 8th grade that we actually worked on together. I reached my hand into a pile of leftover food, and a cockroach crawled right up my arm. I dropped everything I had and screamed for dear life. This was disgusting! Fuck my fantasy of becoming a maid or any person who cleans shit up! Amber held me for a few short minutes, after the cockroach left my body and crawled underneath the bed.

Bit-by-bit the room became cleaner. We found a 'desk' in his room, and decided to put all of his important papers, books, and 'magazines' into the drawers of it.

" We're almost done," I announced joyfully.

" Yeah, but we still have his damn clothes. And I'm not caring them down the stairs." I thought about it for a moment then opened up another trash bag, and held it open as Amber placed the clothes in the bags. She tied it tightly then we rolled them down the stairs.

" Hefty! Hefty! Hefty!" Amber said in a deep voice, mocking the commercial. We laugh together as we trotted down the stairs. On the other side of the door sat Greg and Rowley, waiting patiently. We sat on top of the counter in the laundry room, waiting for the load to finish with Greg and Rowley.

" Play some music," Amber asked me. I took out my phone and played whatever song came on. It was Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. It was the perfect song for Rodrick's room. We all sang along to the verses until the song ended. My phone continued to play music until all of the clothes were washed. I took out Rodrick's sheets, but left his clothes there. I wasn't going to put them away for him; he can do that on his own.

After making his bed and fluffing his pillows, Amber vacuumed the floor. I started to spray the clean smell of Febreze throughout his room. I inhaled the air deeply, and started to gag. Oh God, too much Febreze for one room. Amber and I gazed at our hard worked labor as Greg and Rowley came up behind us. I didn't have to looks at Greg's face to know that he was in utter disbelief.

" W-wha w-wha…" He stuttered.

" Shh Greg, it's ok. I know it's amazing to see Rodrick's room so clean. Now, would you like to pay us in cash or credit?" Amber snorted, and then handed the preteens the water guns and balloons so we could finally play.

" Rodrick is going to kill all of us," Greg spoke softly when the sound of my name being called reached my ears. Everyone looked towards me, but I stood frozen with a smile on my face. The realization of what I had just done finally started to kick in. Greg was right but also wrong. Rodrick was going to kill someone and that person would most likely be Greg or me. I know it's bad, but I prayed that it would be Greg. Footsteps climbed up the steps leading to the top of Rodrick's room, and the figure of my brother appeared. His eyes went wide in amazement.

" Why are you up here, and wow, I didn't know Rodrick kept his room so clean." Luke walked around the room a bit before calling out to Rodrick, " Hey Rodrick, Matt you guys have to see this!" Luke shouted to them. I inaudible 'no' escaped my lips, but it was too late. Rodrick was already on his way. Matt and Rodrick came running up the stairs, and the look on Rodrick's face was nothing to laugh at.

" What the fuck happened!" He shouted as he looked around at his newly cleaned bedroom. I grabbed Amber's arm and tugged her towards the stairs. We were halfway down the main steps when you could here Greg shout really loudly.

" It was Emma!" Greg screeched.

" I'm going to kill you!" Rodrick shouted from his room.

" We need to haul ass like now." I pushed her down the rest of the stairs and out the front door. We fled, with pride, down the street. You know you have made Rodrick mad when he's still cussing and chasing after you after 4 blocks. I wasn't going to stop until Rodrick stopped. It was like tag, only if you're caught; you'll die.

" Get back here!" He yelled.

" No way in hell!" I said to him. Amber gave up two blocks ago, when she realized that she had barley anything to do with this. I soon became tired and my pace slowed down. That didn't stop Rodrick from football tackling onto the grass. He wrestled with me a bit, before pinning my arms down. Rodrick raised his fist, as if he were going to punch me in the face, but just stared down at me and did nothing. I was scared, and didn't know what to say or do. Is he actually going to punch me? Luke would punch him back a million times and he would be grounded for life.

Rodrick finally lowered his arm and got off of me. He lied down in the grass beside me. I turned and looked at him. Eyes were clothes, but he wasn't dead or sleeping.

" I'm going to kill you. Maybe not today, but some other time," he said quietly between breaths. I stared up at the sky and took in his words.

" But you have to admit your room does look very clean now," I laughed. He gave out a weak laugh then stopped. I sat up and looked at him again. His breathing was really heavy now.

" Do you have asthma?' I finally asked him.

" No. I just don't run often. Not all of us are track star, you know," he chucked. I buried my head between my knees and laughed.

" Who told you that?"

" Sean, told me. We were talking about you one day and he told me some of the craziest things you've said." I continued to laugh, but I made a mental note to rip Sean's face off for telling people my secrets and quirks.

You know I'm not actually on the track team nor am I the best runner in the world."

" But you're the prettiest runner I've ever seen." I blushed at the comment. Not typical Rodrick, but it was sweet.

" Flirting doesn't get boys like you anywhere with me." He stood up and stretched his limbs. I stood up from the ground as well and we walked back to his house. It was an awkward silence walking back, but I got over it and decided to strike a conversation.

" Why didn't you punch me?"

Only bad things will come out of it. Your brother would make the rest of my life a living hell if I did, my mom would tear me to shreds and I would get my ass kicked by every guy on the football team."

" Lame excuses. You don't give a shit about what your mom says, my brother would forget it within a month and I'm not that close to anyone on the football team."

He didn't reply. His eyes looked transfixed on the sidewalk in front of us. I let out a sigh as we continued to walk in silence. I looked down for a split second to see my shoelace was untied. I thought about it for a moment then I tripped over it and fell into Rodrick. I landed on top of him on the sidewalk.

" Are you ok?" I asked as I got off of him.

" Just fine. Next time tie your shoe!" He snapped.

" Next time tell me my shoe is untied." I bent over and tied my shoe. As I was tying, a car rolled up beside us. It wasn't anyone I knew very well nor was it my parents, Rodrick's parents or my brother. It was those kids at school everyone avoids at all cost. They are a very exclusive group of individuals who should be taken seriously and also the extreme douche bags that flirt with all the girls just to break their hearts. They have o care for anyone but themselves. My brother tells me not to get associated with them. I admit to dating one when I was a freshman. Young, innocent, and naïve I was. He broke my heart within 3 months. And now here he was again.

**Next chapter will be up when I regain my sleep UvU jk I would do anything for you guys.**


	9. Alejandro

**Well hello there. I haven't seen you in a while, how's everything going? Anyway here I have this brand new chapter for your guys. Yes I know I didn't update for a while and there is really no good excuse for me to use. I guess it was writer's block. But really nothing just seemed to fit as I typed.**

**I don't own Diary of A Wimpy Kid. I just watch the movies.**

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><p>The shiny red mustang came to stop beside us. I stood up from the ground and stared at one of the black windows that held my reflection. Rodrick stood beside me also starring at the car. The driver's door swung open and we took a few steps back. Out came the teenager known as Alejandro Romano. 17 years old, tall, light brown hair, green eyes, tan skin and the most seductive smile ever known to man. He was the teenager everyone feared even though he lived in the upper part of the town where all the really rich families reside. He and his gang come down here to go to school and torment any unsuspecting citizen. But to me he was my ex boyfriend, sadly.<p>

" Hey there babe. What ya up to?" He said getting really close to me. Alejandro glanced at Rodrick for a second then turned his attention to me.

" I was just walking home. What are you doing here?" I was not scared of him. Why should I be?

" We were just taking a joy ride around the neighborhood. Then I saw you and I was like 'Hey why's my girl walking with some low life dumb ass eye liner wearing fag.' "

I turned around and stared at Rodrick. He was glaring at Alejandro. " At least I'm not a stuck up rich kid with a criminal record. Come on Emma I'll walk you home."

Rodrick grabbed my arm and we started to walk off when Alejandro grabbed my other arm and pulled me back towards him.

" Hands off my girl Heffley." Alejandro tugged at me one way while Rodrick tugged at me the other way. I felt like my arms were about to come off.

" Both of you let go of me!" I screamed. Alejandro loosened his grip and Rodrick let go completely. I pulled my arm away from Alejandro and rubbed my wrist gingerly.

" You both are acting like children and it's annoying. I am walking home by my self and that's final." I walked away from both of them in the opposite direction.

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><p><strong>Rodrick Pov.<strong>

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><p>I watched her walk away from us angrily then two hands pushed me to the ground and I was kicked in the stomach. I got on my knees and started to cough.<p>

" If I ever catch you talking or touching my girl, I promise you I will send you straight to the hospital with no warning." Alejandro threatened then he kicked me one more time.

He got in his car and drove away. After he left, I pushed my self up from the ground and started to walk home. Chasing her wasn't for it. I didn't care anyway.

Before going home I stopped off at the small park that I went to when I was a kid. Children played on the jungle set and swings. I made my way over to the swings where some little kids were.

" Beat it." I hissed at them. They got up from the swings and ran off scared. As I sat down mothers gave me ugly looks and shook their heads. I didn't care all I needed was some relaxation and going home was one of the last places where I would get that.

The sun was turning the blue sky into a colorful sunset as I swung and the swing set. Children and parents left the park every minute it grew darker.

" Please mommy, just five more minutes." I overheard a child beg her mother. Hearing the comment made my mind remember when Emma and I would play here.

_Flashback time. _

_Two children raced around the playground playing tag with one another, while their mothers sat on the bench watching them and casually talking about what's going on in their lives._

" _You're never going to get me!" The little girl with blonde and blue eyes yelled as she ran from the dark haired boy who chased after her._

" _Oh yes I will!" He yelled after her. The two ran around for a bit more until the girl's mother called for her._

" _Emma." Her mother called out for her. No response and no sign of her. Her mother tried again._

" _Emma, come here please." She shouted a bit louder. Still no response. The mother turned to the boy's mother and she stood up and called to her child as well._

" _Rodrick." None of the children replied. The mothers exchanged worried looks and set out to find their children. _

" _Emmeline Alexis Clove Night come here right now!" _**(A/N I know the name Emmeline isn't spelled like Emma, but it's close so deal with it.)**_ Her mother shouted. There was a faint sound of childish laughter coming from under one of the playground equipment. _

_The mothers looked at each other then looked under the equipment. The two children underneath looked at their mothers and started to laugh._

_The girls mother had a relieved look on her face and the boy's mother frowned at him._

" _It's time to go now, Emma." Her mother said._

" _We might as well leave too, come along Rodrick."_

" _Five more minutes please." The little girl begged. _

" _Ya can we just stay for five more minutes." The boy added. The mothers shrugged and the kids darted off to the swing set._

_The little girl sat down on the swing while the boy sat on the swing next to her. " Hey Emma check this out. Watch how high I can get."_

_The boy pushed himself backwards and he stared to move back and forth. With every push he went a little higher. The girl sat on the swing next to him and watched._

" _Cool, huh?" He said still going. He eventually stopped and looked at his friend. " Why don't you try?"_

" _I'm afraid of heights and I don't like how it feels when I swing back and forth." She said looking at her purple shoes. The boy got off from his swing and went behind the girl. He pressed his hands against her back and pushed her gently._

_As she gained speed quickly and started to go higher, her grip on the metal chain tightened and she closed her eyes. _

" _Rodrick, stop." She begged him. He laughed then grabbed the chain and the swing came to a jerking stop. The girl hopped off from the swing and faced the boy._

" _It wasn't that scary, right?" He asked._

" _No. I felt safer when you were doing it instead of someone else." She went closer and hugged him and he hugged her back. _

_Even though the five minutes the children begged for had past, the mothers were so caught up in their conversation they forgot the time._

" _Tag." The boy said then ran off with the girl chasing after him._

_End of flashback_

I snapped out of my deep thoughts and noticed it was already dark. I sighed then got up from the swings and walked home.

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><p><strong>Emma Pov.<strong>

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><p>I knew this was the wrong way home and I would have to go in a big circle or turn around and start walking in the opposite direction. And I didn't want to go back and see either one of them.<p>

I kicked a rock that was in my path and it skidded down the sidewalk. The sun started to go down and I needed to get home soon. Just then the same red mustang pulled up beside me and Alejandro got out and walked over to me.

" What do you want?" I whined.

" Chill babe, I just wanted to drive you home. It's a scary world out there and people aren't that friendly at night, trust me."

" Oh ya I trust you only because you're are one of those scary people." I turned around and started to walk.

He caught up to me and spun me around. " Look I know we had our troubles last year in our relationship, but everything's better now. I promise." He pulled me close to him and ran his hand along my cheek.

" You really are hell-bent on driving me home." He nodded his head. As much as I didn't like this, it was the only way to get home fast.

" Fine." I said and walked over to the car. I got in the passengers seat and turned around to see two of his friends/gang members in the back. I sighed then strapped my seat belt on.

Alejandro started the engine and as it came to life it roared like a lion. He sped off quickly down the neighborhood like it was a NASCAR track. My head was screaming for me to tell him to slow down, but the thrill of the ride was too amazing.

As promised Alejandro brought me straight to my home.

" Thanks." I said and opened the door.

" Hey, call me sometime and we could maybe do something fun together." I slammed the car door and walked to the front of my house. As I opened it my brother greeted me at the door.

" Who was that?" He asked.

" No one special." I said as I headed up the stairs with Cody at my heels. I entered my room and before I could close my door Cody darted in and jumped onto my bed. I sighed then closed the door and headed to my bed.

I crawled under the covers and closed my eyes. What I really needed right now was to get a lot of sleep.

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><p><strong>That's the end and you might want to review. I'll catch you later just hope it won't be another month or how ever long it was.<strong>


	10. Kiss With A Fist

For everyone else, school had ended an hour ago. Yet I was forced to stay longer than I hoped for. All because a certain someone and his punk ass friends thought it would be funny to start a 'paper war' with my friends and me. I learned that sitting in the back isn't a good idea sometimes. When our teacher turned her back to us, we retaliated by throwing paper at them from across the aisle. We wouldn't have been caught if we hadn't started to whisper insults at each other.

Our math teacher, Mrs. Fields, got very upset, and told all of us to come outside the class and talk to her individually. When I got outside, she didn't yell, but talked sternly to me. I don't blame her for her actions. Mrs. Fields is a nice, old lady that gives you a warning, and if you fail to compromise or change your behavior then she will unleash hell on you. Instead of kicking us out for the rest of the class or sending us to the principles office, she instead gave us an hour detention.

You could say that I was in a pretty rotten mood for the rest of the day. I didn't eat lunch and couldn't focus properly in class, because Rodrick sat behind me in every class telling me how I 'fucked up' his plans for after school. The end of the day came, and Paisley was waiting outside the detention room for me. She looked like she was almost going to pass out. We entered, Paisley first then me, and saw Rodrick along with a few of his friends and three of our friends already here. We walked over to where the sing in sheet for detention was located. Mr. Lantz, the P.E. teacher, was watching over us. He had his feet on the desk, lying back in the chair, and reading a newspaper.

" Sign in, sit down, and think about why you are here," was what he told us. After signing in, Paisley and I headed towards the back of the classroom. Mr. Lantz stopped us before we could even take our seats.

" Front and center ladies. No one sits in the back when I'm in charge." Paisley and I exchanged looks then headed back up the center aisle towards the front of the room. To my right, you could hear the faint sound of laughter coming from Rodrick and Ben. It was probably something inappropriate.

" Boys, this is detention. Not a giggle festival. Shut up or you will be doing some serious running for me tomorrow. Understand? The rest of us started to laugh at them. Mr. Lantz looked upon us as if we were some weird species form another dimension. He mumbled a few unkind words then went back to reading the magazine that had been clenched in his grip the whole time. A few minutes had past then Paisley raised her hand halfway in the air. He ignored her, until she spoke up.

" Um…Mr. Lantz," Paisley started quietly. His eyes peered from above the magazine," What time does detention end?" Paisley innocent question sparked a fire that was already burning deep inside Mr. Lantz. We all watch as he stood up and slammed the paper down on the desk, and started to yell at Paisley.

" When do you think detentions ends? It's an hour detention, do the math! Do you not see the clock right here? God dammit, this isn't rocket science Ms. Parker. Even Rodrick can figure out when detention should end?" Paisley looked like she was going to break down and cry.

" That's because he's in here most of the time, " I mumbled causing a few people around me to snicker. My sarcasm was as if I had poured fuel into the fire. Mr. Lantz turned to me and started to yell.

" Oh so you think your so smart and funny because your brother is co-captain on Coach Reynolds's football team, huh? Well let's see how smart and funny you really are when you're running double laps tomorrow!" He turned his back to all of us, as he waked back to the desk.

" Well if you weren't such a jackass to Paisley then I wouldn't have to insult your stupidity," Rodrick said trying to sound like my voice. It was way off, but I guess any little thing could set Mr. Lantz of at this point.

" That's it! Triple laps for everyone tomorrow! Now get out of my classroom!" Everyone hesitated for a moment.

" NOW!" He screeched. Even people who were in detention for other things got up and left. You could say Rodrick's comment backfired on him, majorly. I stormed down the hallway, towards my locker. Rodrick was leaning up against the wall of lockers with his friends. They watched as I came up with my friends behind me. We came face-to-face with each other. It seemed that Rodrick and I were once again about to rip each other's heads off over something that may stupid to the normal bystander.

What I think is really funny is that our friends were also starting to hate each other. It use to be just having no tolerance around them, but now it's standing behind Rodrick and I, and yelling at each other.

" Why are you mad at me?!" He asked like he didn't already know.

" If you weren't such an asshole then no one would be in this situation!"

" Hey, I'm not the stupid one who started to laugh and enjoy throwing papers at us."

" You started it and you were also laughing. But if you really think that I'm the stupid one, take a look at your test papers I found in your room. There's enough proof on them to determine who is more stupid. The highest grade you have probably ever gotten in your who life is a D-." His friends looked at him.

" What was she doing in your room?" Ben asked. Rodrick's eyes looked down at the ground, but he ignored Ben's question and continued to banter with me.

" My highest grad last year was a B- and the rest were C-s." The look of pride after his statement threw me off guard. Either he is a really good actor or I'm actually right that a snail is smarter than him.

" You really are dumber than you look."

" You just say that because you wish you had my intelligence." Again, I had to take in his words before I said something back. I don't want to sound retarded while arguing with a retard.

" I could eat a bow of alphabet soup and shit out a better comeback than that." Rodrick rolled his eyes.

" You're just stupid because you're blonde." I couldn't believe two things he just said. One: I can't believe he actually remembered that I was blonde. Two: he must be color blind to think that I was still blonde. Well, I was blonde somewhere underneath all of this red.

" Are you color blind or just that stupid, because the last time I checked my hair was red not blonde!" He had a smug look on his face. Just because someone is blonde does NOT mean they are retarded. I know some blondes do live up to their given titles, but that doesn't mean all blondes act in the same manner. I realized after that statement I was done and didn't want to continue to argue anymore. I was able to calm my friends down then gave them the 'lets just leave' kind of look. Before turning around and heading the opposite direction, I gave one last word.

" I would love to stay an argue with you, but if I argue any longer my IQ level will start to drop. As a mater of fact I could already feel my brain cells dying just standing here with you."

I turned around and started to walk away before I was tackled to the ground roughly, like he did last week. Rodrick was on top of me and we got into some kind of slap fight with each other. I didn't think Rodrick meant any harm in trying to hurt me, but I knew I would have some bruises tomorrow.

Our friends casually circled around us and did nothing to stop it. I screamed some loud shrieks, but still no one would help me.

Rodrick was quickly pulled off of me and two people helped me off of the ground. I didn't know these two people so well. Actually, I didn't know them at all. I moved my hair out of my eyes and saw Alejandro standing there with Rodrick in front of him. Both of the boys had their fists up as if they were getting ready to fight. I would have laughed if this weren't so serious.

Alejandro pulled his arm back then punched Rodrick in the face. I never wanted to have this kind of fight. If only Alejandro knew Rodrick didn't mean any real harm. And if I can only tell Rodrick that Alejandro was just protecting what was his. Wait, Does that mean I'm property now?

" I told you if you ever lay hands on my girl again, I will send you to the hospital instantly."

Yep, I was probably just considered property. But I had enough, and Alejandro was really starting to beat the living hell out of Rodrick. I did what no girl should ever attempt to do in a situation like this.

If you are ever in the situation in which you have to break up to boys fighting here are some helpful tips. Always approached the boy from the side never the front or back, because if you step in between to boys fighting you are and I promise you will get punched in the face. And it will hurt and you will start to cry. Trust me.

I got between Alejandro and Rodrick, but before I could say anything to stop the fight, Alejandro's fist collided with my face. I fell to the ground and stayed down in a daze. I have never been punched in the face before. Tears started to roll down my face from the pain. The same two people who helped me from the ground pulled my body away from the fight and bent down to see if I was all right. I slapped their hands away then stood up from the ground. I walked back up to Alejandro and tried to drag him away from Rodrick. He turned around and shoved me then almost punched me again, but Paisley pulled me back quickly. Ben started to help a bleeding Rodrick, but that only caused one of Alejandro's friends to go a-wall on Ben's ass.

" Alejandro, stop! You're hurting him," I once again tried to pull Alejandro away from Rodrick, but my efforts failed. I changed my tactics and started to pull Rodrick away from Alejandro, but it's hard when he is lying on the floor. Alejandro, breathing heavily, watched me in confusion as I tried to pull Rodrick away. Rodrick groaned in pain then stood up at my side. He looked like a zombie almost. Alejandro came up to us fast, and I attempted at punching him in the face. I actually succeeded! He groaned in pain.

" Do you like my new kisses?" He glared at me. " What? A kiss with a fist is better than none." I smiled. He looked towards his other friend, and less than a minute later, I was being dragged away. Rodrick and Alejandro went back to fighting.

" Hey, what are you two doing?" The voice of our savior called out. Mr. Ross and Mr. Lantz came running down the hall and tried to tear the two teenagers apart. Rodrick stood up and was bleeding a bit from the nose.

" He came out of no where and started to punch me," Rodrick said pointing at Alejandro.

" I wouldn't have to punch you if you didn't lay your hands on my girlfriend!" Mr. Lantz struggled to hold back Alejandro who really seemed determined on murdering Rodrick.

" Who is your girlfriend?" Mr. Ross asked. Alejandro pointed to me and Mr. Ross nodded. After a long talk of what happened and everyone's point of view was taken the two teachers decided it would just be best if we all went our separate ways in this. I didn't like the idea too much, but what the teacher says goes.

Alejandro tried to get me to go with him, but I refused. I wanted to walk home with Amber instead. We headed to the parking lot and I saw Rodrick standing there with his friends. They were hanging around his van and were probably talking about what just happened.

I approached him and gave a small wave. " Hey," I said. His friends glared at me like they did on the first day of school. Rodrick didn't make eye contact with me, but after a few minutes of realizing I was not going to leave without being recognized he spoke.

" Are you ok?"

" Yeah, I'm fine. I've taken worst hits from my brother." He gave a weak laugh then scratched the back of his head.

" Look just stay away from me from now on, until you get that boyfriend of yours under control. I don't feel like getting beaten up again and again."

My smile faded and I nodded. " I understand." I replied just barely above a whisper. He and his friends got in his car and drove away. I turned back to Amber and we proceeded to walk back to my house.

I guess Amber knew I was in a bad mood because she didn't talk to me the whole trip to my house. And when we got there she didn't bother to come in. I entered and headed to the dinning room. My family greeted me with a warm smile that was unaware of what I had just been through. I put on a happy face, so I would not have to answer any questions as to why I was in a bad mood. I moved my food around my plate a lot and ate small bites.

" Emma honey are you ok? You've barely touched your food." My dad asked with concern in his voice.

I looked up at them from my plate. " I just feel a bit sick that's all," I replied then took a bite of mash potatoes. They were surprisingly very delicious and moist.

" Well if you're feeling sick then why don't you go upstairs, take a shower and go to sleep. Then if you feel worse in the morning I will let you stay home.

" Thanks mom. Love you guys."

" Love you too." My mom and dad said while Luke eyed me suspiciously. I smiled then headed upstairs to take a shower.

I was in there for the longest time ever. I let the water just come down over me as I stood there. When I decided enough was enough I turned the shower off and went to my room.

After changing into some more relaxing clothes, I sat on top of my bed and brushed my hair. When I finished, I lied down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. My band posters stared back down at me. It is official. I am having a staring contest with Harry Styles. My stare started to turn into a glared then I stood up on my bed and started to jump up and down in an attempt to take the poster down. Their smiles were starting to creep me out anyway. Since I'm already up here, I guess I should take the rest down. There was a knock on my door and without me answering back my brother came in to fin me jumping up and down. He closed the door behind him then shook his head.

" I thought you were sick? You could actually make a great actress one day," He said jokingly. I gave up my quest and plopped back down on my bed. He sat there with me for a while before I answered back.

" I wasn't feeling well at dinner, and I'm not feeling well right now." I rested my head on his shoulder and he rubbed my back.

" What happened today? You looked really pissed, and why did you get detention?"

I sighed, " How pissed did I look?"

" Like you wanted to kill someone." I laughed a bit.

" I did. Rodrick and his band mates got Amber, Paisley, Sean, Chase and me in trouble in Mrs. Field's class."

" Where was Santana?"

" Bathroom," I mumbled. " It sucks because I had to go pee too, but she didn't let me go."

" Ha, so what did he do this time?"

" We got into a paper fight and when she told us to stop we didn't."

" That doesn't explain your mood at the dinner table."

" Can we not talk about it?" He eased up and decided to leave me alone.

" Ok, but one day you're going to want to tell me things like this and I won't be here. You're going to have to tell mom or dad and you know how dad gets when you talk about boys."

" I'll miss you when you leave." He responded with a kiss on top of my head then we gave each other one of those brother sister hugs and he left without another word. With nothing better to do, I pulled out my unfinished math homework, and started to answer the problems one by one until I was disturbed again. My mom came in my room the same way my brother did. Two knocks and then enter without being invited in.

" Ok tell me why you are really upset?" She took my brother's place on the bed and waited for a response.

" How do you know I was faking it?"

" It's called mother's intuition and Mrs. Heffley called and said Rodrick was in a bad mood as well. Do you care to explain?"

" Well we and our friends got in trouble in class today and had to serve and hour detention after school. During detention Rodrick got me in more trouble and when Mr. Lantz, got to upset he said that all of us have to run extra laps next P.E. class. Then he kicked us out. I confronted Rodrick on the situation and it turned into a fight against our friends and us. When I tried to leave Rodrick tackled me and some boy came and pulled him off and they started to fight. When I tried to break it up the boy accidentally punched me in the face. Two teachers came and cleared everything up, but when I went to ask Rodrick if he was ok he said he asked me to stay away from him." I was in tears now and my mom was stroking my hair telling me everything was going to be all right.

" Who was this boy?" I couldn't keep it a secret from her any longer.

" He was my ex-boyfriend from freshman year in high school. He didn't like that Rodrick tackled me."

" It's going to be ok Emma. Rodrick was just a little shook up about what happened. Don't worry you two will still be friends." She didn't get it. Rodrick and I stopped being friends a long time ago.

" Mom, Rodrick and I stopped being friends a long time ago. He hates me." My mother finally understood after all these years of me telling her.

" Oh I understand now. Don't worry there and a lot of guys out there in the world. Who cares if Rodrick doesn't like you?" Or maybe she didn't understand. She saw that what she said wasn't the right response and just made me cry a bit more.

" Maybe this might cheer you up. You, Amber and me go on a girl only day this Saturday? We can go get our hair, nails and makeup done. Then we can go shopping and while we do that all we can check out some cute boys."

My mom made me laugh. It was hard not to resist an offer that tempting. " Alright, I guess it may help." My mother pulled me into a hug then left me alone in my room to finish my math. I didn't finish my homework, but instead turned the lights off and went to sleep. Maybe if I am lucky, I wouldn't have to go to school tomorrow and relax for one day.

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><p><strong>Author's Notice: Poor Rodrick :( why can't Alejandro be nice? I hoped you liked this chapter. Anyway, I don't think I will update for about a week and a few days due to my trip. I promise, I will try to update, but it will be hard. Maybe I could post a second one tomorrow or tonight…we will see. Have a great summer! Review if you wish :P<strong>


	11. I Knew You Were Trouble

**I updated! This must be a miracle from high heaven! I'm so tired though…**

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><p>The next morning arrived sooner than I hoped for. I had woken up at 5:00 A.M. this morning, and only pretended to be asleep when my mother walked in to wake me up, since I had not come down yet. I begged her to let me stay home so I could rest. Mom let me stay home today, and only today. I had to return to school tomorrow, no matter what.<p>

Of course there were rules if I were to stay home on a school day. I was to answer the phone when she called, I was not allowed outside, except the yard, the house could not be a disaster site when she or my dad came home, and I had to catch up on homework.

After mom left, I checked my face and body in the mirror that rested up against one of the walls in my room. There were a few noticeable dark spots, which I assumed were bruises, on the left side of my face and a few on the arm.

" Just fantastic," I murmured. I poked at the areas, and felt a slight pain. God dammit, why did he have to punch so hard? I pulled a hoodie over my head, brushed my hair in a way that covered the mark on my face, and joined my family at the table.

" Hey," I greeted them casually, as I poured a bowl of cereal from the Lucy Charms® box.

" Are you sure she's sick, Grace? She doesn't sound sick to me?" Dad asked Mom.

My mother replied with a simple answer that I didn't like to much," She's suffering from a broken heart." My dad sighed deeply, obviously not wanting to hear about my girly issues so early in the morning, then went back to reading the news on the CNN app.

I took one last bite of the cereal in the bowl then headed towards the bathroom to shower. When I came out, it seemed as if no one was home, but the TV was still audible.

Just to make sure I was completely alone I called for my parents. " Mom? Dad? Are you guys still here?" After five seconds with no response I walked back down the stairs. Luke jumped out from behind the wall, and almost scared me to death. I screamed and jumped back.

" What the hell do you think you're doing?" I held my hand to my chest, " Dammit, Luke, you could have given me a heart attack!"

" You're not sick, and I'm going to find out what happened yesterday. It's my God given mission." With that he left out the front door of the home we shared. Big brothers can be so retarded.

The problem with staying home is that you can't do anything. It's not like I could walk to Amber's house or call Paisley and Chase then plan to go to the movies with them later on. Basically I am home stuck with nothing to do.

" What to do, what to do?" I said as I tapped my fingers in front of the screen to my computer. I eyed it with a smile on my face.

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><p><strong>(Rodrick Pov.)<strong>

When I walked into school the next day, I was ready to embrace the worst from anyone. I reached my locker and saw Emma's friends hanging around. Not the people I wanted to see first thing in the morning. That girl Paisley kept giving me dirty looks the whole time, until they all left for class

I gathered my things from the top locker that I fought for on the first day of school. Ben came up from behind me, along with Matt, Wade and Tyler.

" Dude yesterday was like amazing!"

" Yeah amazing," I replied sarcastically. I closed my locker and headed for class. I tried to ignore anything Ben said and any questions I was asked about what happened. My jaw was still soar from being punched in the face multiple times. Then I thought about how Emma might be feeling.

We walked into class and took our usual seats, in the back of the room. The bell rang and everyone hurried into his or her seat. I couldn't spot the familiar red head that usually sits next to her friend. I guess she didn't come today.

Mr. Ross came into the room five minutes late. " Alright class thank you for being quiet. I know I was a little late, but people make mistakes, and we learn from those mistakes. I learned that trying to carry hot coffee and books while unlocking your car door isn't the smartest thing to do."

Some people laughed, while others just stared at the coffee stain on his shirt. I have to admit this was one of the easiest classes I have ever been in. I hate literature, but something about the way he teaches makes me understand the material even though I'm not paying attention.

" I have decided to do a special, social project with you guys."

What type of surprise was this? I hope it's no more tests for the rest of the year, or maybe we can just relax and do nothing in his class. That would be very nice.

" What's the surprise, Mr. Ross?" One person asked. Instead of answering the person's question, he walked over to them with one of those magician hats and held it out.

" First surprise we are going on a little field trip," A field trip? I enjoy getting out of school as much as the next person does, but the way he said it sounded like we were going on a little kiddy fieldtrip. " Second surprise is you will be drawing names out of a hat and who ever you get will be your partner for this next lesson."

He was keeping these things very cryptic. Mr. Ross went around the room with the hat making sure everyone took a name out. I raised my hand so I wouldn't have to sit through this.

" Yes, Rodrick?"

" Can I go to the bathroom?" He waved his hand to signal me to leave. I stood up from the desk and walked out the door toward the Men's Bathroom. I pushed the door open and walked inside. There was one of Emma's friends at the sink checking his teeth.

I leaned on the wall waiting for time to pass until I thought it was ok to go back to class.

" Hiding from the cops?" The boy named Chase asked. I didn't understand what he meant then I got it.

" No, just waiting for time to pass in class. Mr. Ross has us pulling out names from a hat for a project."

He started to laugh. " You think you have it hard in his class? Wow, Emma is right."

" Right about what?"

" That you're an ungrateful bastard that doesn't know how good he's got it. When Mr. Ross teaches our class he never lets us do anything that's really fun. Well we are doing the Shakespeare project that he stopped with you guys. He said barely any of you took it seriously."

" Whatever, do you know where Emma is?"

He smiled in a creepy fashion, and I started to feel uncomfortable around him. " Why do you want to know? Are you concerned about her safety and well being?"

I hesitated; probably not the best thing to do because when I didn't answer back quickly his eyes seemed to light up a bit. I looked away from him and stared down at the ground. " No."

" Don't worry I won't tell her you miss her."

" I don't miss her, I don't care about her, and I especially do _not_ like her!" He backed away slowly from me.

" Take it easy, I was just kidding. Emma hates your guts for forever and all of eternity." He left me alone in the bathroom after that. I sighed then stepped out as well.

When I entered the classroom again, Mr. Ross was standing facing the door. It seemed that he was waiting for me to return. " Rodrick you are the only person who hasn't chosen a partner besides your friend Benjamin."

I looked back at the spot where I was seated. Ben was gone. And so were Matt, Wade and Emma's friends who were involved in what happened yesterday. Mr. Ross pushed the hat in front of me. I stuck my hand in and pulled out the fortune-sized piece of paper.

I looked at the paper then back up. " Aw shit," I said a little bit too loud. Mr. Ross looked very displeased with my reaction.

" You should learn to be able to work with anybody, Mr. Heffley." Just then a bunch of students came back in the room. They were panting and sweating. My only guess was that Mr. Lantz came and got them so they could run some laps. What an embarrassment that had to have been.

Mr. Ross grabbed Ben by the arm and pulled him over. " Reach in a take out a name." Without hesitation Ben reached his hand in and read the name.

" Sweet, I got Heather Hills." I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around the look at him then looked back to my slip of paper. If I could only go back in time, and had chosen again, I looked at Heather and she didn't seem so thrilled either.

I shuffled my way back to my seat and sat down. " What are we even going to do?" I blurted out.

" That question will be answered tomorrow when everyone is here. I would hate for someone to get the wrong instructions." I swear to god he had to be hinting something.

* * *

><p><strong>(Emma Pov.)<strong>

" God dammit why won't you load faster?" I screamed at the monitor in front of me. I gave up the fantasy of going outside, when I learned that the new OS X Mountain Lion software was out. I thought it might pass time to check on all the new features and get acquainted with it. But apparently that's not going to happen because it is taking forever and a million years to download.

I got up from the floor and started to pace around the room frantically. I already finished my homework so there is nothing else to really do. Cody and Cerberus were sitting on the couch watching me. I turned to my dogs for help.

" What do you guys think I should do?" They didn't answer me back. I sighed and fell onto the couch. Cody start to nuzzle his nose into my hair and he started to bite it. I groaned loudly then positioned myself properly on the coach and turned the TV on. I flipped through the channels casually. Nothing interesting was on at this time of day, so I just put SpongeBob on. I watched for a few minutes until the doorbell rang and those two dogs of mine started barking wildly.

I thought it was the mailman or one of those door-to-door sales men, but when the ringing turned into knocking it must have been someone I knew or my family knew. Or maybe it was a neighbor checking on me to make sure I didn't go anywhere.

I rolled off of the couch lazily, picked my self off the floor and headed for the door. I didn't bother to check who it was. I mean what's the worst thing that could be behind that door.

And now I know what the worst thing that could be behind my front door. Alejandro stood there with my favorite type of flowers in his hand, tiger lilies and red roses. My dogs started to bark even more aggressively at the stranger.

" What?" I asked glaring at him.

He chuckled a bit like nothing bad ever happened. " I wanted to say sorry for yesterday. I may have gotten a little bit out of hand, but you have to listen to me-"

I did one of those cliché door slams that you only see in movies then went back to the living room to finish watching SpongeBob. Then I heard the back door open. Alejandro walked into the living room as I escorted my dogs outside. I knew he was only going to cause trouble when he walked in.

" I guess I deserve that." He turned to the TV and started to laugh at what I was watching.

" Aren't you a little to old for SpongeBob?"

" No." I said with anger in my voice. No one disses SpongeBob on my watch. He left and went into the kitchen. I could hear cabin doors open and close then there was water running. My only guess was that he was looking for a vase to put the flowers in.

He came back and sat down next to me. I was starting to get irritated after a while. How dare he come into my house without my permission? Who does he think he is?

" How did you know I was here?"

He smiled at me then scooted closer. " I have my resources, but that's classified information to you." I pushed him away, but he grabbed my hands. Now we were staring into each other's eyes and I was trying to figure out why I started to date him in the first place. Was it his looks? Maybe I fell for that smile? No, or was it-

I lost my train of thought when he kissed me. Now it came back to me. I fell in love with him because he treated me so sweet for a while. I gave in a kissed him back. We kissed for a while then he moved his hands to my back and started to fiddle with my bra. I stopped the love train right there.

" Not here." He must have taken that the wrong way, because the next feeling I knew, he was carrying me to my bedroom.

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><p><strong>Leave a comment, like, favorite, share, or do something with my story. Actually it's Emma's (and Rodrick's) story. :o)<strong>


	12. Clarity

**I'm back from my trip! Also, Niall Horan was golfing at the golf course where I live. I didn't get to see him, but two of my friends got his picture and autograph.**

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><p>Last night was going so perfect with Alejandro, until we got into a fight during the middle of our little, um, 'fun time'. It seems that every time I start to question why we broke up, he reminds me in some way, and he always manages to piss me off during times I'm not suppose to be pissed off.<p>

I opened the classroom door and was attacked by Amber, crazy bitch acted as if it's been a trillion years and a day since she last saw me. " Amber stop smothering me," I said into her chest. She apologized quickly then I walked over to Paisley and Sean. Sean high fived me while Paisley decided took the opportunity to interrogate me on my disappearance, since class hadn't begun yet.

" Where were you?"

" None of your business. I do what I want, and what I wanted to do was to stay home. Does that answer your question?"

"First, don't start your answer with 'none of your business' then go into a real answer. That's like me asking you what you're doing Sunday, and then you reply 'nothing, just going to Disney Land' It's either one or the other. Also, how did you convince your parents to let you stay home?" I groaned as I leaned backwards in the chair. Why so many questions, it's too early?

" My dearest Paisley, I work very hard in school to keep my grades up. As a reward for my hard studies, my parents let me stay home when I feel like it. " Paisley scoffed in return.

" Bullshit, you always study the night before," she mumbled as she dug something out of her backpack.

" But, I still manage to get good grades." The classroom door that I had walked through minutes before suddenly swung open. In strolled Rodrick and his 'crew' that consisted of slackers and wannabe rock stars or whatever they had in mind of a dream job. The frown Rodrick was wearing when he came in turned into a small smile when he caught sight of me. Diverting from his group, Rodrick made his way over to us.

" Don't look now, but here comes-"

" Thank you for the notification Facebook, but I'm not blind," I cut Paisley off.

Rodrick pulled one of the seats out from the desk and sat down next to me. He leaned in close and spoke in a rather seductive voice, " Where have you been? I missed my little chubby kitten." He pinched my cheeks like some grandmothers do.

Now he wants to talk to me? After what he said two days ago, I really don't reel like giving him the satisfaction of sharing a slightly decent conversation with me. I turned around in my seat to face my friends, and have a private conversation with them. Rodrick walked away after probably realizing that standing here like a statue was useless. All I can say is that he brought this upon himself. I don't think I will ever speak to him again, friendly conversation or not. Yep, that's what I will do until the day I die. Even then I might talk to him in the afterlife either.

The bell rang, and people took their seats as Mr. Ross came into the room. By what Mr. Ross was saying, I clearly missed a lot of schoolwork yesterday. What's this thing about partners and a project? And when he threw the word 'field trip' out there, I felt as if I were mind fucked a thousand times.

I whispered to Amber," What's this thing with partners and a field trip?" Mr. Ross answered my question for me like he was expecting this.

"Yes, Emma, I remember you weren't here yesterday for the big announcement. Yesterday, you missed choosing your partner for our class project, but luckily someone chose you." Okay, so nothing to worry about, right? It was just one of those partner projects we had done in middle school. My luck had always been great with these types of things. I always managed to get someone who is smart, does their share of work, and knows what to do.

" Well, who's my partner?"

" Rodrick," Mr. Ross said without batting an eye. I wanted to slam my head onto the desk. Of course it would be Rodrick…why wouldn't it be Rodrick? I bet he did this on purpose just to screw with me and drive me to insanity. I guess that good luck I was talking about is running out and the thing of never talking to him again is just dust in the wind. Isn't my life great?

" Is there a chance we can switch partners, or maybe I can pick someone since I never got to choose?" Mr. Ross didn't look happy anymore.

" Names were picked out of a hat, and see me after class," What the heck did I do now? It was a simple question, " Rodrick, also see me after class."

Class eventually ended, and students started to flood the hallways, but I couldn't join the flood because I was special and had to say. After everyone, I walked up to Mr. Ross as he was writing on the board. The next class looked pretty interesting. We waited for Rodrick, but he was a clear no-show. Mr. Ross then sighed and asked a kind of touchy question.

" What's up with you and Rodrick? You two can never get along, and wherever you go trouble seems to be around the corner."

" I guess you have a point, and yes, we do have history."

" So what? Is he like an ex-boyfriend or something?"

" More like ex best friend. I will go over the basics for you, since we don't have that much time. Our mom's were friends, and so we became friends. Then he got other friends, and they didn't like me. So he started to bully me at an early age. Now I know how to stand up, and that's why there is so much conflict between us. I just can't stand him sometimes."

" Have you gotten along at all?"

" We have our moments, but they never last long."

" I'm guessing that this story will end with you two falling in love with each other." I looked at him puzzled a bit.

" I'm sorry, you must have heard me wrong. I don't love Rodrick. I could never love a person who-"

" Emma, life is like a story. Birth is its beginning and death is its end. Your life fills in the middle."

" Wait, hold up a second. If my life is a story then I can choose what to write about?" He nodded his head," Okay, so why are you telling me it's a love story when it's clearly about a girl going through teenage issues?"

He chuckled a bit, which annoyed me. " Have you ever read one those novels or short stories of people opposite from one another fall in love or become close? It's like a play off of "Romeo and Juliet"."

"So it's more like a tragedy than love story?

" I'm glad you were paying attention in class. Yes, "Romeo and Juliet" is a tragedy, but yours doesn't have to be one." Mr. Ross was starting to confuse me now. This didn't make any sense at all. I will admit to having a crush on Rodrick when we were little kids, but that feeling is gone.

" You know Mr. Ross, as much as I would love to get into a deep conversation with you about this life and story thing, I can't because I have to get to my next class," before walking out the door, I turned around to make one last comment on the subject, " Also, if my life is a story like you say it I, then I'm going to rewrite it so that girl doesn't fall for boy and boy doesn't fall for girl."

When I turned the corner, I slammed into Rodrick. The sound I made was between a dying goat and a dying cat. Ugh, that sounded awful. Was he just standing there the whole time listening to the conversation? I scrambled around the floor picking up books. At one point I looked up to Rodrick who was watching over me.

" Thanks for helping me pick up books! You are so helpful!" I told him in the most obvious sarcastic voice a person could ever make. He bent down and picked up the remaining books.

" Rodrick, make sure you don't accidentally take one of her notebooks or diary. It would be a shame if you found out what she thinks of you secretly," Mr. Ross said from the doorway. I started to yell at the young, naïve teacher.

" I don't have a diary at school!"

" So you have one at home?" Rodrick asked with a sly smile. God, I want to murder you so bad, but I can't because it's illegal.

" Yeah, I have a diary at home that contains my every thought about you. It's on the third row up, fifth book to the left on my bookshelf," I told him then ran down the hall to next period. During the middle of class, I noticed that I had picked up Rodrick's notebook. It was completely blank inside except for a few drawings of his band's logo and some other stuff. During class, the teacher left the classroom to answer a phone call, and I took the opportunity to switch notebooks with him. I threw the book at him, and he started to cuss me out until the teacher came back.

It got really hot around the end of the day, and I was dying in my seat. I couldn't even try to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. Then Coach Lantz came in and requested to see me out in the hall. I got up from my seat and walked out into the hallway. Rodrick stood a few feet away from us then we started to walk down the hallway towards the field. On the way, Coach Lantz explained what we were going to do.

" So, you two thought you could miss out on your punishment just because you were missing yesterday? Well, I don't think so. You two are going to make up lost time and run those laps now." So he was serious about the punishment. I totally forgot about it until now.

We stood beside on the school's track while Coach went over the instructions. " You two should have been here yesterday. It was much cooler for your friends. Oh well. You will keep running until I say stop. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Coach Lantz," we both replied. He nodded his head, and Rodrick and I began to run around the track next to each other. After three laps had gone by with no conversation, Rodrick tried to start a conversation.

" Now that we are alone, it is the perfect time to tell me where you were yesterday. I was worried about you," he teased.

" Yeah, sure you were. If you really are that interested; I was at home trying to get away from you."

He laughed, " Me? How am I the problem?"

I stopped running and looked at him, " You got me in trouble two times in the same day! I just wish you could leave me alone." Mr. Lantz butted into our conversation.

" Keep running!" he yelled. I sighed then picked my pace back up again. I tried to keep my distance from Rodrick, but he was able to catch up easily.

" I'm sorry I got you in trouble. Now can we talk about something else?"

" Fine," I said quietly.

" Did you hear about the talent show they are doing in town?"

" Yeah, what about it?"

" Are you going to do something?"

" No, but I have a feeling my mom might ask me to help out. Let me guess. Your band will be performing?"

" That's correct, we plan on winning the cash prize and getting signed to a record company." I started to laugh.

" I'm sorry, Rodrick, but there are better talents out there than your band. Also your music isn't that good. You guys are better off doing a cover of another band." He stuttered on his words, but could never find the right thing to say back. After what seemed like twenty more laps, Coach Lantz said we could stop and go home since the school day had ended. I went straight to the girl's locker room to take a quick shower. I was sweaty and it was gross.

I stripped out of my original clothes then headed into one of the shower. It felt kind of weird being here all alone with just my thoughts. It was so quiet that I started to sing a little tune so my shower wouldn't be too dull.

* * *

><p><strong>Rodrick's Pov.<strong>

As I walked back to school, I watched Emma dash up to the school doors and run in. Where was she going in such a hurry? I walked back into the school only to get some of my stuff and homework. When I turned a corner, Alejandro was standing by some lockers. He didn't see me at first, but as soon as I turned around to walk away, he noticed me.

" Hey!" He called out. Without looking back, I started to run anywhere that I could hide. The classroom doors were locked, and I was running out of time and space. The only place left was the girl's locker room. There was a small chance that I might be safe in here. Singing disrupted thoughts of panic and doom.

" A clock ticks 'til it breaks your glass and I drown in you again. 'Cause you are the piece of me. I wish I didn't need. Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why. If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy? If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?" The voice sung. There was laughter after the female voice finished. Maybe it was a cute girl, and I could probably get her number…nope it wasn't a cute girl. It was Emma with a white towel wrapped around her body and a blue hairbrush in hand standing in front of me. Her mouth dropped immediately and her face turned bright red. She looked mortified.

I reached out and touched her exposed shoulder. It was very warm. I then moved closer and smelt her hair. " Your hair smells very nice," I told her. She still had the shocked expression, but she seemed to be coming back to Earth.

* * *

><p><strong>3POV<strong>

The two rival teenagers stood almost chest-to-chest with one another. Emma, the feisty red-head with no idea what's happening started to back away from the tall lank slacker teen, Rodrick. Her face was not also red from the hot shower, but also from embarrassment.

She quickly grabbed her clothes, went to another part of the locker room, and changed her clothes that consisted of pink and black Vans, Pink Boyfriend Pants, and a lifeguard hoodie that belonged to a friend. Emma eventually came back to see Rodrick going through her gym bag. He looked up and examined her.

" You're a life guard? Cute," he said then went back to searching for whatever. Emma snatched the bag away from him then in one swift movement; she was able to slap him across the face. I guess you could say, Achievement Unlocked: Smack the living hell out of your enemy. Rodrick rubbed his face gingerly then followed Emma out of the locker room. He kept looking down every hallway so not to run into Alejandro again. Rodrick would be dead for sure this time if Alejandro caught him.

" I know school is a lot like prison, but you don't need to act like you are breaking out of one. Walk like a normal person and stop peeping behind the walls. No one is going jump out an attack you," Emma said from closely behind him.

" Since you've been following for quite some time now, I suppose you want a ride home?" When Emma didn't answer, Rodrick stopped and looked at her. She looked away from him and shrugged her shoulders.

" I guess," she said slowly. It didn't really matter to her who drove her home. All she wanted to do was get home. Rodrick took Emma's hand, and dragged her the rest of the way to the parking lot. There were a few cars still left here, even Emma's brother's car. Rodrick thought about leaving her hear since Luke was still here. But he wanted to show that he could be a Good Samaritan as well.

Rodrick and Emma were able to make it to the van safely. The face Emma made when she got in was crossed between horrified and disbelief.

" What died in here? A deer?" she complained.

Rodrick with a laugh and said, " If only you knew."

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><p><strong>Till next time, I bid you all a farewell. Please review, and I will update soon.<strong>


	13. Shut Up and Drive

**My house is empty! I'm living in a hotel now until the 16****th****. Update: I'm a liar…I'm actually in SF right now…will return to SD on Tuesday. The Wi-Fi in this hotel is better, but my phone is not sending text messages to anyone.**

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><p>This was my first time having Rodrick drive me in his van. The first word that comes to my mind is 'awkward'. We didn't talk to each other, because of the position I was in. My feet were propped up on the dashboard and my back was turned to him. I entertained myself by watching the trees and houses pass by quickly.<p>

"_Is he going the speed limit?" _My question was answered for me by one of those things that tell you have fast you are driving. It read 60mph. I frowned then turned to face him.

" Can you slow down? Are you really that desperate to get me out of your car?" I laughed.

" Can you go back in your little corner and shut up?"

" You were the one who offered to drive me home," I said quietly. The van stopped abruptly, and I grabbed onto the seat so that I wouldn't go flying into the windshield.

" What the hell was that?! You could have killed me." Rodrick didn't give a reply back.

" You-"

" Get out and walk yourself home," he said calmly. Without hesitation, I grabbed my backpack from the floor, opened the door, and got out. As soon as the door was shut, the car took off down the street.

"_I should learn to keep my mouth shut."_ I sighed then dragged my ass back home.

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><p>My brother and I were watching Say Yes to the Dress when the house phone started to ring around noon. No one answered it, so it went to voicemail after a few rings.<p>

_Heeeeeeeey, is anyone home? Well, you might be out or you're just ignoring me. PLeeeeeease don't ignore me. But I am REALLY bored and was wondering if I could stay over for the weekend. It would be so cool, and Emma your mom could like drive us to the mall and we can stalk cute boys like we always do. By the way, have you gone grocery shopping this week? Anyway, I'll be over in an hour and if your not there, I will let myself in. BYEEEEEE!_

The voice of my eccentric, over eating, home intruding best friend rang through my house. Knowing it would be only a matter of minutes before she came over, I went to go tell mom. I rolled off the couch and onto my brother.

" Not cool Emma. Get off of me now. I can't hear what Tiffany is saying about her dress!" I laughed then rolled off of him.

" You're the best," I kissed his cheek then went to my parent's room. I knocked on the door and waited outside for a reply.

" Come in," mom's voice said. I opened the door and saw my mom sitting at the desk doing paperwork and stuff on her laptop. I look around their bedroom for a while. Their carpets were so white. All of our carpets are white, but these were like fresh white. I love this room so much.

" Amber is coming soon," I announced while walking towards her.

" I heard her from upstairs. Don't worry I will take you girls to the mall."

" I'm not worried about us going somewhere to keep her entertained. It's just that when Amber gets here, she might be a bit hungry, and I don't think you or dad has gotten more groceries this week." Mom looked like she was thinking for a moment then wrote something down on the notepad in front of her.

" Why don't you get ready to go, and then wait outside for Amber?" I left my parent's room for mine then changed into a pair of white jeans, combat boots, and a black sweater. I picked up my wallet from the table next to my bed, and headed downstairs to wait outside for Amber.

While sitting down on the sidewalk, I could make out the shape of a person walking towards me. The happy brunette was skipping towards me with a bag of chips in her hand, and yellow backpack hanging off of one shoulder.

My mom came out of our house the same time Amber reached me. She directed us towards her car, without inviting Amber inside. While sitting in the front seat, I could see Luke and dad get into the other car. I guess they were going grocery shopping while we went to the mall. Immediately, Amber started to complain about her family life.

" I only came over because my older sister was screaming at my mom about why she couldn't go to her friend's party today, and my other older sister threatened my mom that she when she goes to college, she will never come home. And then my dad got involved and all hell broke loose. I also caught my younger sisters going through documents on my computer. I got so fed up with their shit that I just packed my bad and left. I sweat, sometimes I can't be around them."

This was the main reason why I wasn't allowed to go over to Amber's house a lot. There is just too much drama. Our parents are really close to each other, but it seems that her siblings drive her parents crazy. I'm sure she does also. I can see why my parents stopped at two children. Amber continued to talk excessively until we got to the mall.

" Oh look the mall!" My mom pulled up to the side of the mall to let us out while she went to park.

" Okay girls, I'm going to do my own shopping while you do yours. And Emma, please do not go overboard like the last time," my mom's hand was shaking when she handed over the debit card she had confiscated from me over the summer after I went a little crazy at the mall.

" Right, I promise." Amber and I walked into the mall, and the first place we went to was the food court. She looked like a kid in a candy store as she ran up and down the food counters.

" Amber, stop it," I scolded her the second I was able to sit her down at one of the tables. The smile she wore turned into a pout.

" Why do you have to be such a major killjoy?" We laughed then she dragged me to where the Starbucks was. We waited in the long line to order, and as we were waiting Mrs. Heffley showed up behind us.

" Emma, is that you?" I turned to face Mrs. Heffley holding her youngest son, Manny, in her arms. I put on a happy face even though I wished she never had come over here.

" Hi Mrs. Heffley. What are you doing here?" We gave each other a small hug.

" Oh you know," she at Manny, " just getting some items for Manny, and a few things for Greg and Rodrick."

" Are they here with you?" Amber asked. Oh dear lord Jesus Christ in the highest heaven seated next to your holy father please, I beg you, please do NOT let Rodrick be here. You can let Greg be here, but just PLEASE don't let him be here. I'll go to church if he's not here.

" No." Looks like I'm going to church soon. I left the conversation to go get our drinks and pastries. Mrs. Heffley thought it would be a good idea to sit down with us while we ate.

" Emma, can I ask a favor of you?" Mrs. Heffley looked at me seriously. I took my lips off of the drink.

" Sure, what do you need?"

" I don't know if Rodrick told you or not, " I almost laughed. She thinks Rodrick and I are still best friends, " but we are going to Rockin' Rapids, and the house will be left unattended for a couple of days."

" And?"

" Can you housesit until we get back? I would have never asked, but I've been seeing houses getting broken into when families go on long trips on the news. I just don't want that to happen, and I trust you completely. I also already talked to your mom, and she said it would be okay." Way to go mom for telling me about this.

" It will just be you in the house for the weekend. You can even bring your dog if you wish. Just no friend over."

" Yeah, I guess I can do it. What could go wrong?" She leaned across the table and gave me a hug.

"Thank you so much Emma. You really are a charming girl. I just wish some of that charm would wash off on Rodrick. " Amber almost spit coffee out because of her laughter.

" Well, Amber and I better go and find my mom. Amber, can you please hand Manny bat to Mrs. Heffley so we can go?" Amber pouted again as she bounced Manny on her knee.

" But-"

" Now," I said through clenched teeth. Amber handed the kid back over. We waved goodbye and got the hell out of there before she asked me anything else. Amber dragged me into almost every store you could think of. I did most of the shopping at Forever 21. My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I stepped away from Amber to answer.

" Hey mom, what's up?"

" _Are you girls having fun? Is everything okay?"_ I turned around and looked at Amber whom was pulling clothes off of the racks left and right.

" Yeah, we're doing ok. What are you doing?"

" _Waiting outside the mall for you two."_

" K, we'll be out in a few minutes. Just let me get…" I looked at Amber just in time to see her being escorted out of the store. I sighed, "I'll be there soon mom, Love you." I hung out and went outside of the store to check on Amber.

" What the hell happened?"

" They refused to let me in the changing room with 20 different pieces of clothing. That's all I will say until my attorney shows up." I rolled my eyes then grabbed her arm.

" Come on, we have to go."

We passed other stores Amber wanted to go into to, but I told her we couldn't. She didn't put up a fight until we crossed the pet store.

" OH MY GOD EMMA! LOOK AT ALL THE FURY KITTIES AND PUPPIES!" Amber broke free of the grip I had on her and dashed into the pet store. She left me standing with bags in my hand. I went in after she hadn't come out in five minutes.

I found myself staring at a little puppy behind the glass. I didn't know what type of dog it was, but it was beautiful. Maybe I should get some stuff for my dogs while in here?

" Ain't he a beauty?" I jumped at the voice that spoke form behind me. A short pudgy woman with ginger hair and freckles stood behind me. " Didn't mean to scare ya child," she said laughing in a southern accent.

" Yeah…I already have two dogs at my house." She continued to stand next to me without saying another word. I was starting to get creeped out when she didn't say anything. I saw Amber's head peak around the corner and give me a stupid ass grin. I left the lady standing there and headed over to Amber.

" Wipe that stupid smile off your face, and let's go." Amber laughed as she followed me out of the mall. My mom was waiting at the corner for us. When we got into the car, I started to ask my mom about Mrs. Heffley.

" We saw Mrs. Heffley," I started.

" Oh really? Did she say anything to you?"

" Yeah, she asked if I could housesit for her. Why didn't you mention this to me?"

" I didn't think you would mind." I sighed then looked out the window.


	14. Up All Night

Amber was the first one out of the car, when my mom pulled into the driveway. The door was unlocked, so Amber didn't have to wait for mom or me to go up and unlock it. I saw her body disappear behind the wooden door. My mother sighed heavily then I went up and hugged her.

" I love you and your friend, but the way they act sometimes is just…unbelievable. When I was a teenager, I thought my friends were bad, but yours truly take the cake," mom kissed the top of my head then I left her to find what Amber was up to in the kitchen.

She was rummaging through our cabinets looking for any food that was "tasty". The whole time she made disgruntled and frustrated sounds. Eventually she stopped going through our food supply to look at me. Amber looked distressed.

" You guys don't have any good food," Amber looked upset with me because of the lack of "quality tasting" food I had.

" Don't worry, Luke and dad went to the store, and I'm sure they will be home soon with food you like. It will only be like another hour or so."

" Ugh, men! They can't do anything fast enough. I would have preferred going grocery shopping than going to the mall. Clothes aren't edible, Emma." I shook my head at her then grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the staircase.

" Come on, let's head to my room. Maybe I can keep you slightly entertained until they come back." Once in my room, Amber headed over towards my bed, and plopped down on the mattress. It would seem that climbing the stairs took all of the energy out of her. Amber lay there motionless and unresponsive to anything I said. I picked up a pillow from the floor, and threw it at her. Amber lifted her head up, and glared at me.

" You, missy, just started a war," she hissed coldly. Amber grabbed a pillow from the bed, and charged with full force at me. Then she went down before even moving 4 feet. Amber had landed on the flour with a loud thump because of a hand that was wrapped around her ankle. It made me kind of nervous. Who was that?

The body of a blonde teenage girl who went by the name Paisley appeared from under the bed. Amber scrambled to get off of the floor, and when she finally managed to do so, she tried to whack Paisley with the pillow. Unfortunately for Amber, Paisley was able to stop the pillow before it collided with her face.

" I think someone forgot that I have obtained a red belt in taekwondo. Let me remind you really fast." Paisley lightly kicked Amber in the stomach with her foot. Amber once again was sprawled out on the ground. She waved her hand in the air to symbol a white flag.

" That's enough, both of you. Amber has put the white flag up, and the battle is over," I declared.

" Still being a killjoy," Amber stated weakly from her spot on the floor. My response was throwing the pillow I had been holding in my hands at her. Paisley did the same with hers.

" How did you get here?" I asked her as we exited my room. Amber followed behind us.

" My dad dropped me off. Thought I could hang out with you tonight. Watch some movies, make some popcorn, and talk about boys…"

" I don't care about your mode of transportation that took you from your house to mine. I am asking how you got into my house?"

" Oh, threw the window like a normal person." I frowned at her, but she flashed a smile.

" And you call me a stalker," Amber mumbled from behind us.

" What you do is stalking. What I did was break into my best friend's home, hide under her bead, and wait for her return. You on the other hand followed a boy around the whole day, and even followed him home. You learned what school he went to, found out his schedule, and kept checking his Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr every day religiously." While Amber looked upset about Paisley recalling last year's events, Paisley and I were laughing our heads off.

" Mom, Paisley is here. Also is dad on his way yet?" I asked her while she was once again doing some type of paper work.

" No, but I can order you girls some pizza in the meantime," she suggested.

" Alright, thanks." Mom's cellphone rang, and she answered it. It sounded like dad's voice.

" Hello? Hi honey. Oh, I understand. It's not a problem at all. Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes," my mom said then hung up, " Well, your dad has to go into work and had to leave Luke at the store in the parking lot. I'm going to go and get him."

" Okay. See you." Mom waved goodbye to us.

" Now what?" Amber asked sounding not to thrilled that the person with the money for pizza left.

" Now we watch horror movies and stay up all night," Paisley said creepily. While I went into the kitchen to make popcorn, Amber and Paisley sat in the living trying to pick a movie on Netflix. You could here them arguing over what to watch. By the time we made a decision, Mom and Luke had returned with pizza. Amber was literally drooling her brains out.

We turned the lights off so the whole downstairs area was dark. Mom was upstairs doing work, and it was just I, Paisley, Amber and Luke in the living room together watching our first movie. Amber and Paisley took the floor while Luke and I had the couch. Amber and Paisley had chosen a baby movie to start us off with. It was Paranormal Activity 3. The movie had a few jump scared, but nothing that would keep me up all night. The movie ended and we all got up to stretch.

" What's the next one?" I asked Luke. He smiled at us devilishly.

" Saw one, three, and four." All the girls looked at each other then Paisley spoke up.

" That doesn't count as a horror movie. It's more gory and gruesome than horror," she tried to negotiate out of it.

" Does gore and blood horrify you?" Luke asked her. When no response was given, Luke continued to speak, " It counts as horror."

" Alright, how about Nightmare on Elm St.? I heard that's scary," Amber suggested. No one gave a response.

" Silent Hill?" I asked.

" Or maybe the Exorcist?" Paisley finally suggested a movie. We got into an argument on which one we should watch first. Luke got bored of our arguing, and decided it would be best to leave the room. We came to a decision that we should watch all of the movies.

Amber's soft whimpers were heard from where I was seated on the couch with a blanket over my head. Paisley and Amber had decided to take the floor once again. I felt bad for Amber, but she agreed to watch these movies with us.

" Why would they do that do a human body?" Paisley asked out loud. I could tell that watching three Saw franchise movies, Nightmare on Elm St., The Exorcist, and then The Human Centipede wasn't going well with anyone. I looked at the screen just in time to see…I can't even describe what I'm seeing. Who comes up with this stuff? The woman on the screen gave a scream, but she was cut off when the TV turned off unexpectedly. Dead silence was in the air, but was filled with Amber's whimpers.

" E-Emma? C-can you t-turn the light on?" Paisley's shaky voice asked.

" S-sure." I go up from my seat, and slowly ran my hand along the wall trying the find the light switch. I was blind as a fucking bad, and this was very annoying. I found the switch, but when I tried it nothing happened.

" Don't worry you guys. I think the power just cut off. It should come back on soon," I told them. I could feel someone or something moving around me. The lights went on suddenly, and screaming was heard. Amber ran past me and up the stairs crying. I walked back into the living room to see Paisley still on the floor, and my jackass of a brother with a Halloween mask on.

" Not funny, Luke. I'm going to tell mom," I told him. I probably sounded around the age of five again, but it wasn't funny. I ran upstairs with my brother trailing behind me begging me not to tell mom. When I entered the room, mom was still asleep in bed.

" Mom, Luke made Amber cry," I told her as I shook her awake.

" They were watching horror movies, and I couldn't help myself," Luke tried to explain himself.

" Huh? What's going on? Why are you guys yelling?" mom asked.

" Luke made Amber cry."

" Luke, for god's sake leave your sister and her friends alone. And now leave me alone," my mother told us. That was the nicest way of her kicking us out of the room. Paisley, Amber, and I hit my brother with pillows for being such a jerk. We all decided that we weren't going to watch any horror movies for a while now.

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><p><strong>I'm so close to moving. One more day till I say goodbye to my sweet, sweet California. Leave a review in the review section below. Favorite my story, and make me feel happy. <strong>


	15. Set Fire To The Toaster?

Today was the day, the day that I was to start my housesitting. Mom was to busy with work and Luke had practice, so that left only my dad to drive me to the Heffley household. I could have walked, but you know when you have the option of either riding in a car or walking, I think most people would choose a car. I took Mrs. Heffley up on her offer, and decided to bring Cody with me as company.

Dad stopped his car in front of the home. It didn't seem like he was going to get out and talk to them this morning. I gave him a one last goodbye kiss before grabbing Cody by the leash and leading him out of the car.

" If you have any problems, just call mom or me," dad told me. I waved goodbye then walked up to the door. It was slightly open and I could here Mrs. Heffley talking. I opened the door more and stepped in with Cody. He barked at the people. Mr. and Mrs. Heffley jumped at the noise. Mrs. Heffley's face lit up when she saw me, and then she frowned a bit. Was it because of what I was wearing? I glanced nervously around the room. Rodrick and Greg looked extremely confused.

" You're taking Emma instead of us?" Greg asked with disbelief that his parents would choose an outsider to join in family fun instead of them. Wait, instead of 'us'? I hope it's not what I think it is.

" Oh, Emma, I'm sorry but there has been a slight altercation to our plans. Rodrick and Greg aren't coming with us. Could you watch them and the house while are away?" I glanced over my shoulder to see if my dad was still there. Sadly he was not, but it would be rude of me to say no.

" That's perfectly fine," I said through almost clenched teeth. There were hints of 'I'm sorry' in her eyes as she spoke to me.

" Thank you so much. They aren't allowed to have friends over and can't leave the house. Greg is allowed to play video games, but no later than 8:45 at night, Rodrick can't play his drums past 7:00, TV time ends for them at 9:00, but you can still watch, and I want them in bed by 10:00," she went over the list of instructions. I didn't know if I was going to follow what she said or not. Mrs. Heffley gave me a small hug with her free arm then left for the car. I smile at Mr. Heffley as he went to go follow his wife to their car. When I closed the door, Greg was close behind me. Cody jumped on him causing him to move back a little.

I bent down to unclip Cody from his leash. He ran up the stairs and disappeared. I walked into the living room to set my bag down and sit down. Standing was too much work. I was met with Rodrick's body spread across the entire couch leaving nowhere for me to sit. I looked at him but was ignored. Greg started to tug on my arm like a little kid.

" Do you want to play Twister Wizard with me?" I shook my head.

" No, I have homework to do. Sorry Greg, maybe later." Rodrick stood up from the couch to tower over me. At least he's up.

" It's a three day weekend. Why don't you enjoy it then do homework later." I walked away from him and into the kitchen for something to drink or eat. Surprisingly, both boys followed close behind me.

" Look, I've babysat kids younger than both of you. I trust that you enough to let know you can get your own food and do things by yourself. Now let me do my thing and I'll let you do yours. But if any one your parent's rules are violated, then your privileges will be taken away. Now go to something productive with yourselves." Rodrick whom seemed quite upset left the kitchen in a hurry, but Greg stayed behind for quite some time.

Greg sat down in front of the TV to play video games while I finished up some homework. The rest of the evening was going so well until Rodrick came back down stairs. I wanted to crawl under a Rodrick when I heard his footsteps coming down the stairs.

" Hey, Reddy," my new nickname came out of his mouth.

" Can you stop calling me that? It's starting to get annoying."

" Yeah, don't really care," …there are no words to describe how I feel," Now help me with homework and make me dinner," he dropped the books down beside me then sat down in a chair.

" I'm sorry, but do I look like a maid to you?"

" No, but we can most certainly change that," we got into another stare down. Ugh, I never want to babysit him again. I gave up without much of a fight.

" Fine, what do you want to eat?" His face relaxed into a leased smile. Rodrick sat back and laughed at me. I'm seriously thinking about throwing a book at him.

" Can we order pizza?" Greg asked. I nodded my head then went into the kitchen to call from my phone. Rodrick came in and stood behind me quietly. The girl on the end asked what type of pizza I wanted. I didn't know what type Greg liked.

" Greg likes sardines, olives and green peppers," Rodrick told me. Without really thinking it through, I told her what Rodrick told me. The pizza arrived within the 30 minutes they told me. The smell wasn't something to be drooling over.

" Well Greg, there you go," I pushed the pizza box over towards him. He opened it and started to complain.

" I wanted cheese," he mumbled. I shot a glare at Rodrick. How could I fall for something so easily? Rodrick was laughing his ass off, and I was furious. I picked up a slice of pizza and threw it at him. He didn't seem the slightest up set by it. I knew a book would have been better.

" Go take a shower!" I demanded. He continued to stand their laughing.

" Alright, but you are welcome to join me if you-"

" Go!" He walked up the stairs, leaving me alone with Greg and the retarded pizza in the kitchen. Greg helped me pick up the mess that I had made.

" Thanks Greg. Promise me you will never try to be like Rodrick?"

" Don't worry, Emma. I don't think that will ever happen. I'm going to get ready for bed now."

" Yeah, go ahead." Greg headed back up the sitars leaving me alone in the living room. I sat back down on the couch, and pulled out a book Mr. Ross wanted us to check out. He was trying to keep us occupied with work before reveling our group assignment.

The Outsiders. That was the name of the book he assigned us. Mr. Ross told us it was an easy read, and we might enjoy and learn something from it. We didn't have to read the whole thing or up to a certain point. It was just some light reading to do incase we get bored.

" What are you doing?" Rodrick's voice whispered next to me. Was he trying to scare me?

" Read, something you should try," I felt somewhat happy with my response. But of course it only would cause more conflict. He reached over and grabbed the book out of my hands.

" Hey!" I got up and ran around the couch. He held me back with his arm as he read a few sentences on a random page. Rodrick eventually gave the book back to me. I took note that he only wore a towel around his waist. Rodrick pulled me into what seemed like a hug.

" I even used soap this time. Don't I smell great?" I was pressed up against his chest by his arms. I couldn't move around that much. He squeezed me tighter the more I squirmed.

" Please, let go," I begged. Rodrick didn't let go, but he loosened his hold then rested his chin on top of my head.

" Why are you so short?" I didn't know if he was speaking to himself or talking to me. He let go and I stumbled back falling on to the floor.

" Night Shorty," he patted my head before walking away. Cody came up and started licking my face.

" Where have you been, buddy?" I asked my non-talking dog.

If I thought the evening was bad, the night was worse. As my body laid on the couch with Cody curled on the side of me, I was having nightmares within my brain. It wasn't about anything in general, just scary stuff. When my eyes opened, Greg's face was in front of mine. I screamed loudly then toppled onto the floor. When I would have toppled onto the floor if I weren't already on the floor.

" Greg, why!" I screamed at the 7th grader.

" Morning sunshine," Rodrick's face appeared from behind me. I pushed him away then sat back on the couch where Cody lay watching us.

" What do you guys want this time?" I asked while stroking my dog.

" Breakfast," they said together. I groaned then tilt my head back on the couch. Rodrick started to touch my hair, and I quickly smacked his hand away.

" Go and make your own breakfast. I told you I'm not your maid. I'm going to take a shower now." I left them downstairs and headed straight to the bathroom. I was still so sleepy that I forgot to lock the door.

" I don't know how to make breakfast," Rodrick's voice said out of nowhere during the middle of my shower. Instinctively, I covered my breast even though I was behind a none see through curtain.

" Get the hell out of here, Rodrick!"

" I'm bored and hungry." I started to hit my head against the side of the wall.

" Go and make yourself something to eat."

" Like what?" My mind raced for something Rodrick could make without causing a mess or any trouble for me.

" Toast." The first thing that came to my mind was toast. The sound of the bathroom door closing was music to my ears. I dried off and changed into a new pair of clothes, after the shower. I was met with horror after coming down stairs.

" Oh my God, what have you done?!" The toaster was on fire, and food was everywhere. Greg and Rodrick were scrambling around the kitchen looking for God knows what.

The toaster fire was put out, but the fire that was raging inside of me wasn't. Greg and Rodrick were on their hands and knees cleaning the _entire_ kitchen while I was sat on top of the counter with my head in my hands trying to figure out how.

" We are doe now. Can we go?" Rodrick asked with a snarky attitude. I dismissed them but Greg stills stayed with me.

" Emma, we-" I stopped him there.

" Greg, I really don't want to know how you two managed to set a toaster on fire. I really don't."

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><p><strong>Leave a review and thanks for the previous reviews.<strong>


	16. Party Rock

Unfortunately, for my well being, Rodrick has decided to sit himself to the very far right of me on the couch. Cody, who's head has been resting in my lap, watched as he drew closer and closer towards me. I couldn't help but look at what he was up to. I met his intense stare, rolled my eyes while sighing, and then went back to reading the last few paragraphs to this chapter. I couldn't focus properly on the book now, because all of my attention was now on Rodrick. Once again I looked at him, just out of curiosity this time. The same intense stare was present in his eyes. Cussing him out in my head, I set the book to the side.

" What could you possibly want now? It better be good, because I am still not in the mood to joke with you," I sincerely told him.

A smile spread across his face, and at the same time I had an uneasy feeling filled my stomach. Whatever he wanted was not going to be good.

" Let's throw a party," he said point blank. Oh God this was too funny. I couldn't contain my laughter, even if I tried.

" Y-you want to throw a p-party?" I was able to get my laughter under control now, " Yeah, that's never going to happen. Your mom told me no friends over for you or Greg." I picked my book back up from the side of me, only to have it ripped from my hands and flung across the room by Rodrick. Just perfect.

" Please, Emma. I cleaned the kitchen, left you alone, and finished all of that damn homework that was assigned," he pleaded with me. Greg took a moment to pause his video game and make a comment on the conversation we were having. I preferred it when he was quiet.

" I think that will be cool," I shushed the child before he said too much on the matter. Rodrick looked at me with the worst puppy-dog face in the history of mankind.

" Rules are rules Rodrick, I'm sorry." Okay, so I wasn't really sorry for him. I got up from the couch to retrieve my airborne book, but Rodrick pulled me back down.

" Please," Rodrick gave one last try at convincing me. I looked over to a puppy-dogged face Greg. This was not going to end well for me; I just knew it.

" Fine, but I don't want to be held responsible for anything that happens tonight." Rodrick hugged me tightly. I squirmed in his arms until he let me go. Afterwards, he pulled out his cellphone and called/texted anyone and everyone he knew. While he talked people into coming, Greg was in the kitchen preparing the food. I rubbed Cody's back as we watched everyone run around the house preparing.

" Can I use your phone for music?" Rodrick asked.

I sneered at him, " No, can't you use your IPod?" He groaned loudly then walked over to me. We started to wrestle on the floor for the phone that was in the back pocket of my shorts. Confused of what to do, Cody wagged his tail and barked at us. I could only guess he assumed it was play time. Rodrick eventually pinned me down on the floor and took my phone as a prize.

" Hey!" I said standing up quickly, only to have Rodrick push me back down on the ground. I hit my arm on the table beside me.

" Jackass!" I screamed at him from the floor. My ass and arm hurt like hell right now, but despite the pain, I still got up and managed to make my way to the upstairs bathroom.

From inside, I could here the doorbell ring numerous times. Cody's bark was prominent through the house, before the door opened to whoever it was. I undid the fishtail braid that held my red hair, and then combed with my fingers through that ugly mess. Even though it wasn't straight like I like it, it was durable for the night.

The sound of music from my phone was blasted throughout the whole house. When I entered the living room from upstairs, no one was in it. Not even Cody who marked the couch as his "spot". I followed the sound of laughter into the kitchen. Rodrick, Ben, Chris, and another boy were leaning on the counter drinking from red cups while eating some chips. Cody sat in front of the boys, licking his lips, begging for the food that they had. Greg was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen.

" Why is this bitch here?" Ben said pointing in my direction. I glared daggers at him, but only a smile appeared on his face in return.

" Where is Greg?" I asked as I walked up to Rodrick.

He took a long sip at the drink before answering, " Don't know; don't care."

" Do you know anything?"

" Why don't you shut the hell up or I will lock you in the basement." I left, but Cody didn't follow me. I felt entirely alone as I sat on the couch. I didn't even know where my damn book went. It got better as more and more people showed up. I was kind of hoping they wouldn't, but at the same time was relieved. Cody was running around the house, overwhelmed with all the people. The living room became crowded, so I got up and looked for anyone I knew. I saw a couple people from my classes and decided to talk to them until I saw Amber and Paisley standing off to the side.

Paisley spotted me starring at them, and then waved her to come over. I waved goodbye to my other friends and walked over to my two little loners.

" What are you doing here?" Paisley shouted over the music while Amber hugged my waist tightly. I pulled them to a more quiet area.

" I was supposed to have been house sitting for the family, but some stuff came up and so I had to watch them as well."

" And you let him throw a party? God damn, I wish I had a babysitter like you when I was a kid!" Amber whispered in my ear. I pushed her away.

" Have you been drinking?" Amber smiled at me.

" Yeah, she has. I can't remember where she got it. Maybe the kitchen?" I let go of Amber and left Paisley and her to go find Rodrick. I don't really care if there is alcohol at a party, but there is a chance that I can get in trouble for this.

It didn't take long to find him. Rodrick, Ben, and Chris were standing idle with red cups in their hands that might contain liquor. Rodrick's eyes rolled when he saw me approach.

" What the hell do you think you're doing? Serve alcohol when I'm not here, because I don't feel like getting into trouble."

" Why do you keep bothering me? I saw you hanging with your friends, so go back to them." Before leaving I tried to take the drink from his hand, but it ended up spilling on the floor. I guess I could call this one a victory. Rodrick was cussing me out as I left to go back to my friends. And then the phone rang.

" Everyone shut up!" I could hear Rodrick scream from the staircase. The music was cut immediately and nobody made a sound. Rodrick picked up the phone an answered in a happy voice.

" Hey mom, what's up?" I can't believe him sometimes," Emma? Yeah, Emma is doing fine. She's just, ugh, reading a book? Yeah, she's reading a book." I rolled my eyes.

" Of course you can talk to her. I think she would like that." Rodrick started to walk towards me. I tried to get up and move away, but he was already here. I shook my head defiantly, as he held it out towards me.

" Emma, please? Please, Emma? I'm begging you," Rodrick whispered to my. Moments ago he was telling me to fuck off, and now he wants me to corporate? Hah, fat chance! But then she might find out about the party. I snatched the phone away.

" Hello Mrs. Heffley; how is your vacation going?"

_" Just fine. Is everything ok?"_ She asked me.

I looked around the room and I guess everything was ok. Nothing was broken, so it's not really a lie. " Yes, everything is ok."

_"Are you sure?"_

" Yes, nothing bad has happened and we are all still alive and well."

_" Ok, well if you say so...Let me say goodnight to Greg and I will be out of your hair."_

God dammit, I don't even know where Greg is. I handed the phone to Rodrick and let him deal with this. I went back over to Paisley and Amber who greeted me with high fives.

While walking around the house, I noticed Rodrick was talking to a girl in the kitchen then she walked away from him with this disgusted look on her face. I smiled and walked up to him.

" You know if you keep that act up, you will never find love." I laughed at my own little joke then walked outside to get some fresh air. I sat down on a small bench and relaxed.

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><p>Rodrick Pov.<p>

'Why would she say something like that? What's the point of saying that? Emma is becoming more confusing as the days go on. ' I started looking for the stupid redhead to ask why she would say that to me. In the corner were her two friends but no Emma. Where was she?

I stepped outside the house and into the backyard to check for her. There were maybe about ten people out here already. I could see Ben talking to some girl on the bench…w-wait is that Emma? She was smiling and looked like she was having a good conversation with Ben. Then she started to laugh. Why was Ben making her laugh? He doesn't even like her. Emma turned to look at me. I try to smile at her but I'm too much in shock to do anything. And now my chance is gone. Why is she even talking to him? Ben is not Emma's type.

I walked up to Ben and slap him on the shoulder.

" What the fuck dude?" I motion for him to come closer and then I whisper in his ear.

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><p>Emma's Pov.<p>

Rodrick's friend Ben came and sat next to me on the bench. " Cold night, huh?" I shrugged my shoulders. He scooted closer to me then tried to put his arm around my shoulders.

I glared daggers at him and he retracted his arm. " You know Rodrick is right, you are a total bitch." I laughed then he started to laugh.

" Does Rodrick talk about me a lot?" I asked.

Ben's eyes got wide and he smiled. " He complains about how you are always yelling at him and always ruining his fun. But he has called you hot a few times." My face started to feel warm then I laughed. I noticed Rodrick was starring at us from the backdoor. I looked at him with a smile. He seemed kind of mad and upset. I looked back at Ben as he continued to tell me things. Rodrick came up behind Ben then whispered something in his ear.

" She really does that?" Ben asked looking at me.

" All the time." Rodrick replied.

" You are such a loser." Ben said to me. They started to laugh and I got up and left. Once in the house, I was lost in my own thoughts then I found myself climbing up the stairs and heading to Rodrick's room. I looked around and all I saw was a huge mess that needed to be cleaned up. It was disgusting but I didn't really seem to care right now.

I went through his stuff almost mindlessly. I wasn't looking for anything particular but soon I found a picture of the two of us when we were kids. I don't remember when this was taken but I know it was before we started school. I continued searching and found a lot of other photos of us. Rodrick must have taken these out of his family photo album so his mom couldn't show it to him. Probably makes him feel guilty.

Putting the pictures back where I found them, I started looking through other draws. Soon I stumbled upon our 8th grade yearbook and beneath it were magazines that I rather not speak about. Most of the book was dedicated to us so there were a lot of pages. I found writing next to some of the names of the girls. Just as I was about to turn the page to my class, a very familiar voice from behind caused me to drop the book onto the floor.

" What do you think you're doing?"

"Shit." I said to myself.

All of a sudden and much to my surprise, Alejandro wrapped his arms around me and held me close to his chest. I could feel my face getting warmer and I knew I was blushing bright red. Luckily it was too dark to see.

" What are you doing here?" I questioned my, what I assumed to be, ex-boyfriend. He chuckled and buried his nose in my hair.

" It's a party right? I saw the text on my phone and I thought I should show up. Who would pass down a good party?"

" I doubt Rodrick invited you personally." I hissed at him.

Alejandro chuckled again. " No, but it was forward to me from someone I know who probably knows him. Now how about I start asking questions. What are you doing in his room?"

What was I doing in Rodrick's room? I don't even know. My silence only made the situation more intense. " No answer? I could only think that you were waiting for-"

I stopped him before he could say more. " No, that's not the reason why I'm here. Okay? I just happened to wander into his room."

" Why? The party is down stairs. But I guess we could make it a party up here also." That sent chills going up my spine. Maybe a year ago I would have said yes and in anyone else's house I would have said yes, but this is different.

" Also, here." He handed me a red cup with liquid still inside. " Thought you might want something to drink. Something to make you relax." I went against all of my instincts and knowledge and took a sip. I was right; it was alcohol. I sighed then drank the rest.

Alejandro was right, for once. It was a party and I should relax. I mean the only person who would get in trouble would be Rodrick. It's his party not mine. I looked up at Alejandro. He had this seductive smile on his face, a smile that I couldn't pass up. I put the drink down beside me as we started to kiss. Maybe this is what I really needed.

* * *

><p>I could feel someone stroking my hair, as I slept. The touch was very gentle. " Sleep well?" The voice asked me. I nodded my head. Their hand started to stroke my face and arm. I started to get goose bumps and felt all mushy and gooey inside.<p>

" That's good. Well how about YOU START HELPING US CLEAN UP!" My eyes shot open to see Rodrick glaring down at me. I looked behind me to see if Alejandro was still there. I don't know if it was a good or bad thing that he wasn't there but I could tell Rodrick wasn't happy camper that I had slept in his bed without clothes on.

" Put your damn clothes on and help us clean up." Rodrick threw my clothes at me. " My mom and dad are coming home early and I'm very sure they don't want to come home to a naked girl in my bed!" He slammed the door shut as he left me to change.

" Bastard," I mumbled then changed into my clothes.

I headed downstairs to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of orange juice while Greg was taking out the trash. It was kind of amusing seeing them rush around like this.

I picked up the book that Rodrick threw yesterday and sat down on the couch. As Rodrick was passing by, he stopped to yell at me.

" Didn't you hear me? I said my parents are coming home soon. You need to help!"

" And didn't you hear me yesterday, Rodrick? I told you that I'm not responsible for anything. That includes cleaning up the mess you made. So, I suggest you stop yelling at me and start cleaning more!"

Rodrick let out a frustrated cry but continued to argue with me. " Yeah, but you are the babysitter. So you will get into just as much trouble as us if you don't help."

" You know what Rodrick? You should really be focused on taking that eyeliner off of your face. It's a good tell tale sign that something went down last night."

Rodrick started to stutter and I waved him goodbye then went back tor reading my book.

Minutes later, the two boys finished cleaning just before their parents arrived. Greg started to play a video game while Rodrick attempted to lay his head in my lap. I smacked him away but that only made things worse.

Greg left before he could hear our childish argument. " Why can't you let me have peace for once?" I asked him.

" I'm tired and deserved to be rewarded for cleaning up such a big mess."

" What do you want a kiss for fastest 'clean up before mom and dad get home'?" Oh God, did I really just ask Rodrick if he wanted me to kiss him? Rodrick looked at me and I started to laugh to make the moment less awkward. In one quick motion, his lips were pressed up against mine.

I was completely dumbfounded and didn't know what to do. I heard the front door open and Rodrick pulled away from me.

" It's so nice to be home!" Mrs. Heffley's voice rang through the whole house. Greg came down the stairs and greeted his parents and younger sibling. Rodrick got up and greeted them as well. I was still in too much shock to do anything.

I snapped out of my trance and put on a face. " Hello Mrs. Heffley. How was your vacation?" She smiled back and then started to tell all of us about it.

Sorry I took me so long, but here it is. Comment, favorite, and all that other stuff. Next chapter will be up next week?

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><p><strong>Leave a Review, please.<strong>


	17. Life Just Sucks

**FUN FACT ABOUT THIS CHAPTER: It took me three tries to write this chapter. I wrote three separate chapters and tried to find the best one. Also, I ended up loosing it among other documents I had.**

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><p>I was scared, I will admit. But I didn't know what I was scared of. Being alone? No, that wasn't it. I shouldn't have put high hopes into those two boys. I shouldn't have believed that when Rodrick kissed me that it was going to be a new start in our friendship. Unfortunately it wasn't. All it was was a joke.<p>

You know what sucks? When someone kisses you and you think they have actual feelings besides hate for you, but it just turns out that it was all a prank they made up and that they still really do hate you. That's what happened with Rodrick.

I actually did believe that he might have liked me. After his mom dropped me home, all I could think about was he and all I wanted was he. I even thought of calling Alejandro and telling him, " Screw you Romano, I found someone who will truly love and appreciate me." But I didn't. I decided that it would be best to tell him the next time I saw him again. Lucky for me, I saved myself from embarrassment.

That Monday when school came, the first thing I did when I got to class was sit next to Rodrick. I smiled and everything. It didn't quite connect in my head when he was hostile towards me. Then he started telling me the truth that he didn't really care and that he just wondered what is was like to kiss a whore. He said this out loud and almost the whole classroom heard.

My friends knew I wasn't a whore and I don't really know what could make him think I was a whore. My only response was a faint 'What?' that escaped my lips. I could see his friends from across the classroom laughing up a tsunami. He continued to tell me things that I really didn't want to hear. This was a full on attack by the one and only Rodrick Heffley.

I noticed that my hands were starting to shake uncontrollably. Then Rodrick started laughing at me but I could still hear the unevenness in his voice. Like he was being mean but he was also concerned. It was confusing. Did he care or did he not care? Which one was it?

I stood up from the chair and backed a way from him. My throat felt like it was closing up and my eyes started to water. I needed to get out of here, like now. Everyone was now staring and even some were laughing at me. Turning around, I ran out of the classroom and to the girl's bathroom. When there, I confined myself to one of the stalls and let the tears just come out rapidly. No one else was in here and I'm very sure if someone were to come in they would leave almost immediately when the sound of my cries hit their ears.

The first bell rang, but I didn't bother to move from where I was. I didn't want to go back to class to be possibly tormented more by Rodrick. The door to the bathroom opened and I could hear the sounds of heels clicking the floor. My only guess was that it was Carmen and her gang of true whores. My tears stopped and I pulled my feet up onto the seat of toilet so they couldn't see that someone was here.

They talked with over excessive likes and abbreviations. If there were someone who should be called a whore, it would be those girls. They talked and talked about things I really didn't care about and some things I was rather quite interested in. I started to realize that these girls weren't really as bad as people make them out to be and that I was wrong for judging them.

I started to debate with myself whether I should or shouldn't step out and greet them. My first thought would be that they think I was spying on them or something. Which wasn't true. Finally, I made the decision and stepped out of the bathroom stall.

There to my left stood Carmen, Madison, Cassidy and Sasha. I presented myself in front of them but nobody said a word. Carmen lifted a finger and pointed to the place I had just come out of.

" Ok, like why were you in there and like why are you eyes like all red and stuff and why is your makeup like running all over your face." Carmen asked me all of these questions at once. It was stupid to have come out and now I can't leave without answering questions. I've just been making terrible decisions this week.

As I continued to demean myself and remind me why I'm here in the first place, the tears started coming out again and this time tenfold. I fell to the floor and cried into my hands. I know it probably wasn't the most sanitary or things to do, but I couldn't stand to stand anymore.

The click of stilettoes was heading my way and an arm was rubbing my back. " Hey, Emma? Are you ok?" She said. It was the first time I heard her same something without using the word 'like'. I shook my head no and the rest of them joined me on the floor.

" Do I need to cut a bitch or what?" Said Sasha. She looked like she could kill someone right now. I got my crying under control and started to tell them everything that happened this morning. The look on Carmen's face was unbelievable.

" That Rodrick Heffley and his friends need to be put in their place. When I tell your brother about this-"

" No, that's unnecessary." I told her. Or maybe it was necessary. Maybe that's whom I needed to go to all along. Carmen saw that I was considering it and she would do everything in her power to make Rodrick pay for the crime he committed.

The girls pulled me off of the floor and started to help me look more calm and collected. Madison redid my makeup while Sasha brushed my hair. " You now, you would look better as a brunette." Sasha said. Sasha smiled at that then started writing something down on a scratch piece of paper.

" Here" She said holding the paper towards me. " Call me if you ever want your hair to look normal." I took the paper and on it was her cell number. I said thank you quietly and we just hung out in the bathroom for the rest of the period.

" Why don't you hang out with us for the rest of the day?" Carmen offered. How could I say no they've done so much already. I nodded. The rest of the day went on ok. I didn't hang out with my friends but with people my brother knew.

I can't believe I thought that was actually going to be the end of my suffering for today. What happened sucks, I know. But what sucks more is that after school, Carmen took me to the mall to get a costume for Halloween. Seeing that it is in a few weeks. She has a reputation to uphold and sadly that reputation involves her wearing the sluttiest things she and her friends could find.

While they were trying on some of the many costumes they picked, I wondered around the Halloween store, looking for something to wear. My three little cousins, Nathan, Rosie and Sebastian were coming down along with my older cousin, Gala. Gala and I were to take them trick or treating around the neighborhood since there was some crime going on where they lived. My aunt and uncle thought it would be safer.

" How do we look?" Sasha asked me. I turned around to see what they were wearing. Sasha was wearing a cheerleading costume that had a incredibly short skirt and showed way to much cleavage, Madison was wearing a witch costume, Monica had on a female batman costume, Cassidy wore one of those sexy police officer uniforms and Carmen was a playboy bunny. None of these costumes really surprised me. I help up to thumbs and the girls smiled then retreated back into the room to change.

After changing they came out with their costumes in hand. " What are you going as?" Cassidy asked me. I shrugged and said I didn't know yet. Then all of a sudden, Carmen took my arm and started pulling me around the store looking for something I could try on. Then she found the perfect costume for me. It was a little red riding hood costume. I sighed as Carmen rushed me towards the changing room to try it on.

She left me alone to change and it took me awhile to figure out how to put it on, but I managed to get it on. I stepped out of the changing room and the flash of camera lights greeted me. The girls took pictures and I took a step back nervously. Carmen smiled and said, " You look adorable." I turned around and went back to change out of my costume. When I came out all the girls had disappeared.

" Just great." I mumbled to myself. Just when I trust someone, they turn out to be bigger asses than I thought. I shuffled my way to the cashier to pay for the costume. He saw how down I was, so he gave me a discount. I mumbled thank you and paid the remainder I owed.

" Could this day get any worse?" I asked to God, thinking he might answer back. And surprisingly he did. I know I've been saying, 'you know what sucks' but you know what sucks the most, besides Rodrick? When you get ditched at the mall by people who you think are your friends, but they aren't. Then when you leave the mall, you see your stupid-supposedly-changed boyfriend kissing fucking Jessica Parker on your way out. But it doesn't end there. When he looks up and sees you standing 10 feet away, he doesn't give shit and goes back to make out with that slut, who is also your brother's girlfriend.

Oh and let's just make this day better by making it rain out of nowhere. Talk about God just loving you today. I felt like I was going to throw up everything. I wanted go die in a whole and never come out. I had cried too much today and didn't feel like shedding any more tears.

Emma, how are you going to get home? You may ask. Well, I don't know. I may as well catch fucking hypothermia or pneumonia while here. I would be better off dead. I called my dad and my phone and he happily agreed to pick me up.

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><p>Here I am, two weeks later and still depressed over what happened. I have locked myself in the comforts of my room and have refused to make human contact with the outside world. Maybe love and friendships isn't my things. Maybe I could just be the weird cat lady who lives alone and seeks companionship from her cats. Yep, that sounds like a damn good idea.<p>

My stomach growled as a sign to remind me to feed it. I rolled off of my bed and onto the floor of my bedroom. When the pain died, I got up and went down stairs for breakfast or maybe it was lunch. I can't remember what time it is. I don't have time for that. I'm too busy plotting my cat lady future.

As I shuffled into the kitchen, the smell of bacon told me that it was indeed breakfast time. Luke stared as I walked into the dinning room. He was already eating away at his portion of the meal. It was sad; the poor boy didn't even know his girlfriend was cheating on him. Seconds after I sat down, my loving mom put a heart shape looking pancake in front of my eyes. I looked up at her and she smiled, patted my head then retreated to the kitchen.

I picked up my knife and fork and started to rip and stab at the pancake hear with much ferocity. My dad so happened to be walking through the dinning room at the very exact moment and was a witness to my animalistic behavior towards the heart.

" Emma, stop playing with your food and eat it." He told me then sat down with his newspaper. I stopped attacking the innocent pancake and began to eat its fluffy flesh. After finishing, my mom then put another pancake in front of me but this one was round and had eyes for eyes and bacon for a smiley face.

" Really?" I asked her. She kissed my head and sat down beside me with her coffee. I once again picked up my knife and fork and began to the attack the face, pretending it was Rodrick or Alejandro. Who ever it was, they were going to die and be my breakfast.

" You kids know that your dad and I have been going up to Greenwood a lot recently." It was true; they have been going there a lot. Greenwood is a nice little town but there isn't a lot to do there.

" You may have been wondering why." Nope, we haven't been really wondering why. We just see it as a few hours alone in the house. " Well, the reason why is because St. Mary's Orphanage has given our family the opportunity to adopt a little boy and girl."

So this is the surprise mom and dad have been waiting to tell us? Luke and I are getting a new brother and sister. " They are going to start staying with us starting Wednesday." Dad said. Now that was a shocker. I thought it took like years to be able to adopt a kid.

" Their names are Valeria and Francisco. Ages 6 and 12." A little sister I get a little sister? This was probably the best I've had since the beginning of the school year. My mom noticed my smile and gave me a hug.

"Emma, Valeria is going to sleep in your room while we make one of the guest rooms Francisco's room." So that's why they were redoing that room. I was so happy.

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><p>That Monday at school, I couldn't wait to tell my friends, I've been rarely talking to them but now that I feel better, I think everything is going to be all right. When I got to the class, the first thing Mr. Ross told us to do was it with our partners he assigned a few weeks ago. I almost had a mental breakdown. I had to sit next to Rodrick for the whole class period? My smile turned into a frown, as I sat down next to him.<p>

" You guys won't believe this, but I was able to get us tickets to Diary of Anne Frank." Mr. Ross said with much excitement. We were reading the book _Diary of Anne Frank_ in class and it's just wonderful. I bet the play is marvelous also. But I didn't understand what that had to do with out partners.

" Anne Frank kept a journal and documented her memories while living in World War II. I am giving you and your partner one journal to document your memories. This will be a yearlong project. Meaning that I want it handed in to me on the first day of school next year. In the book you will either write down an entry about something that has happened or you will have a picture and an entry. Pictures can be taken or hand drawn. My only requirement is that both partners write in this journal. So let's say Mary writes down an entry. Mary can't do another entry until J.J. does his. I want this book filled completely by the time you hand it back to me."

Oh just great, I'm going to get an F all because Rodrick probably doesn't want to write down something in a journal and I can't even do the work for him to save my grade. Life is beginning to suck again. Mr. Ross passed out the journals to each of us. Before Rodrick could even look at it, I took it away from his eyesight.

Maybe if I write something down first, it won't look as if we didn't do any work. It will just look as if I started it and then Rodrick to hold up to his end of the bargain. I'm a genius. The downside to the rest of class was that I had to sit next to Rodrick and his blaring music from the headphones he wore.

How could one stand to listen to such heavy metal? The bell rang and I walked to my locker to switch out my books. While switching, Rodrick leaned up against the locker next to me. I looked at him and he eyed me up and down. We stared at each other for a minute before I left to my next class. My heart raced and told my brain to stop sending signals to my heart.

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><p>Lunch came and this was when I decided to tell my friends the good news. We met in the music room, a place where no one really goes until after school. Santana sat in one of the chairs with his arms crossed. He refused to look at me. I was only able to get my friends here was because Amber called for them. Other than that, I wouldn't have been able to do it.<p>

I sat next to Amber and we were all quiet except for Sean who was munching a way on his apple. It kind of killed the mood they were all trying to set. Even Paisley, the one who always got over what I did, wasn't happy with the way I had been acting.

I stood up and started to speak" I have something important to say. I am-" Just all of a sudden Paisley punched me in the stomach and I fell to the ground holding my stomach in pain.

" What the fuck was that for? I asked her.

" How dare you become pregnant! Why Emma, why?"

" I'm not pregnant. I was going to say that I'm getting a knew brother and sister." Paisley immediately apologized and sat back down in her chair.

" So you're mom's pregnant?" Chase asked with a pen in his mouth. I shook my head no.

" We're adopting. The two kids are coming to live with us this Wednesday." Amber tackled me out of my chair.

" That's wonderful news, Emma. I'm so happy for your family. But you know, if your parents really wanted another kid, they could have always taken one of my little brothers or sisters." I smiled at Amber. I love how she is always trying to sell her brothers and sisters to people.

" Why are you guys being so nice to her?" Santana snapped. We all piped down and looked at him. What the hell is he talking about?

" I don't understand. What-"

" You know what I mean. You think you can ignore us for a few weeks then all of a suddenly call a meeting and tell us this good news? You can't be serious, Emma." I walked over to Santana and hugged him. I forgot he was an only child. His parents are always on business trips and they never have time for him.

" I'm sorry." I told him as I pet his soft curly hair. He hugged me back and I knew I was forgiven.

" But seriously, never ignore us again." I smiled and we continued to eat and talk.

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><p><strong>I swear, I don't know how to end a chapter. Anyways review and the next chapter will come to you soon. Thanks.<strong>


	18. Frankie and Valeria

**Sorry for not ****updating. I've been working on some other stuff :) **

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><p>At first, the idea of having a little brother and sister would be cool. I always see my friends arguing with their younger siblings and I always wonder why aren't they nicer to them? But now I know what it's like to have younger siblings and I fucking hate it. Valeria is extremely attached to everyone in the family but mostly me, and Frankie is mostly attached to my dad and Luke.<p>

When I got home from school, the day my mom and dad brought them down from Greenwood, she followed me silently around the house and just stared at me. Like an owl, she would just stare with her big chocolate brown eyes. It kind of creeped me out, but my mom just told me that she isn't use to having an older sister and that I should just get use to it. Then on the second day, I couldn't take it any more.

It was 8:53 P.M. and I was trying to do my homework, like a sensible teenager, but Valeria was at the foot of my bed staring at me. I put down my pen and book and stared right back. We were in this staring contest that lasted for God knows how long. I make a goofy face at her and she started to laugh. It was then I realized that she is just a kid and that I shouldn't get all worked up with her.

" Come here." I said patting the top of my bed. She climbed in and snuggled up next to me like the way I use to do to look when we were younger. I brushed her hair with my fingers and braided it. " Was there something you wanted to tell me?" I asked. He little head nodded up and down.

" Ok, what is it?" She turned to me and started playing with my red hair.

" Are you a mermaid?" I started to laugh uncontrollably. Of all the months I've had this read hair, no one has said that I look like Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid. I told her I wasn't a mermaid and that my hair was just dyed. She then asked what color my hair was really.

" Guess." I said. She giggled again and started guessing the colors of the rainbow. We spent the rest of the night talking to each other, and the next morning I got a detention for not finishing my math homework. But it was worth it because I bonded with Valeria.

Frankie on the other hand was a wild card. One moment he would want to spend time with me and the next it would be like "leave me the fuck alone"_._ He mostly spent time with our dogs and my dad. Luke tried to get him to play football but he instead played a game of chess with my dad.

When I came home on Thursday, mom told me that we would be going over to the Jefferson's house for a small party. Mom's plan, with the help of Susan Heffley, was to get Francisco and Valeria associated with other kids before they start school after winter break.

" Why do I have to go?" I didn't mind going, but if I had the choice of not going and going, I wouldn't go.

" Because it's going to be a new environment for Valeria and Frankie. I just want you to make sure everything will go ok."

I was in my room trying to get ready when mom came in with Valeria behind her. Mom had on a long red dress with white stilettos and black earrings.

" Wow mom, you look like you could be James Bond's girlfriend." My mother smiled.

" Thank you sweetie. This is the Jefferson's house and you know how they are." Oh yes, I know how the Jefferson's are. Very classy people, you may say. I had a very good feeling that I would have to wear a dress for tonight's event. My mother and I went to my closet and pulled out all of the dresses I owned. Valeria watched in amazement as we laid each and every one out on the bed.

" Are you a princess?" She asked me. I shook my head. Most of the dresses I got were when we lived in California. They were more like something to wear to the beach and on a hot day than something you would wear to a dinner party.

Mother made disgruntled noises as she sorted through the dresses. Frankie came in and sat on my bed next to Valeria. He grabbed a dress and handed it to me. " I think this one would look nice on you." I looked at the dress he held in his hand. It was black with white lace covering the top. I didn't have anything to loose by wearing this. The Jefferson's weren't people I was really enthusiastic about.

Frankie left so I could change. When I was done, he came back and went straight for my shoes. " I was thinking of just wearing converse." I said. My mother shook her head. Francisco pulled out a pair of black platform ankle boots that were hidden deep within the closet. He held them up to me. I took them from him and put them on.

For once, I was almost the same height as my mother. She was around 5'6" and I was around 5,3". But most of the girls at my school are taller than that so that classifies me as short. I wobbled in the Devil's Prada until I finally got the hang of it.

We all piled into the car and drove to the Jefferson's house. When we arrived, mom told all of us, including my dad, to behave and act civilized for just a few hours. Mrs. Jefferson opened the door and greeted us with a warm welcome. I caught her eye my mother up and down, and she did the same thing with me. We stepped in and she pointed Frankie, Valeria and me to where the other kids were. Luke, who is practically almost an adult, went with my mom and dad. I mouthed 'help me' but he just waved goodbye.

There weren't many children my age. Or maybe I should say there were none that were my age. Seeing Rodrick wasn't a big surprise to my eyes. It's his younger brother's best-friend's parent's house. Valeria clung on to my arm tightly as we walked toward the kids. Greg and Rowley were the first to greet me.

" Hey Emma." Greg said. " You look amazing!"

I laughed. " Thanks Greg, you look good also. You too Rowley." I looked at Frankie and he was starring at them. " Francisco, this is Greg and Rowley. They are in the 7th grade." I told him.

" Hi, nice to meet you." Rowley held out his hand like a gentleman would do. Frankie looked at Rowley then his hand and then looked up me with a 'what do I do?' look.

" What grade are you in?" Greg asked, ignoring the awkward moment. Frankie gave no response except a stare.

" He's in 6th grade. Just turned 12." Both nodded. Valeria tugged at my arm. " Frankie, why don't you go do something with Greg and Rowley." Frankie walked away with them slowly. I really do hope he makes friends.

I looked at Rodrick but he didn't seem to notice me. He was sitting all alone on the couch playing with his IPod. I walked with Valeria over to him then sat down. He looked at me then looked away. I looked at him then looked away. Valeria played with my hair and I saw Rodrick starring.

" Are you mad at me?" He asked. I wanted to laugh so much right now. Mad? Am I mad at him? Oh God, this is too funny.

" No, I am perfectly happy with the way you treated me weeks ago." The situation was so funny that I had to use sarcasm.

" Look, I'm sorry."

" How many times have you been sorry? How many times do I have to hear you apologize and then go make fun of me again? What you did wasn't funny and it hurt a lot."

Rodrick sighed and placed his face in his hands. I saw my mother looking around and when she spotted me, her face turned into a smile and she came over to where we were sitting.

" Hello Rodrick." Mom said. He didn't respond in any way shape or form. My mother looked at me and I shrugged. I wasn't up for explaining what his problem is. " I am going to introduce Valeria to the adults." Valeria took hold of my mother's hand and they went off to go find Frankie.

When my mom was a good distance away, Rodrick lifted up his head again. " Who are those two kids that came with your family? Are they your cousins?"

" Wouldn't you like to know?" I crossed my legs and folded my arms. Rodrick once again sighed.

" Yes, I would really like to know."

" Your mom didn't say anything to you about that?" He shook his head. " My parents adopted two kids. They are my new little brother and sister." Rodrick looked a little confused, so I didn't say anything so that he could sort out what I said in his mind.

When it finally clicked in his tiny brain, he smiled. " Well, let me give you a few tips on how to deal with a younger sibling. Don't-" I got up and walked away. Advice from Rodrick was useless. I don't know why I even started to talk to him. I wondered aimlessly into the kitchen, toward my loving mother. Mrs. Heffley, Mrs. Jefferson and Mrs. Lee were gathered around her.

When Valeria saw me, she let go of my mom's hand and came over to me. I picked up the skinny child and the ladies made an awing sound.

" So Emma, how does it feel to have younger siblings?" Mrs. Heffley asked me.

I shrugged and replied with, " It doesn't feel any different than having an older sibling." The ladies nodded. My mom let me take Valeria back to where the other kids were. When I returned to the living room, Francisco was sitting on the couch next to Rodrick. I put Valeria down and walked, as quickly as my heels would allow me to, over there.

" Hey, what are you talking about?" I said in a friendly voice while sitting beside Rodrick. He smiled then tried to put his arm around me. " I don't think so." I pushed it away.

" Rock and roll. Rodrick's in a band and he asked me if I would like to be a 'roadie'." My eyes went wide and I looked at Rodrick.

" You asked him to be a what?" I nearly screamed. My voice cracked a little and some of the younger kids looked over at us.

" Roadie." Frankie answered. Rodrick held up his hands like it wasn't his fault.

" This kid has that roadie look. I think he would be a great addition to the band."

Before I could answer, Mrs. Jefferson said that it was time to eat. I got up and Frankie and Valeria followed me like little ducks to the dinning room. Frankie went over to my dad while Valeria went to my mom. Mrs. Jefferson thought it would be a good time to have a prayer circle since we all attended the same church.

Well, we belong to the same religion. My family hasn't been to church in months. She had us hold hands, as one person led us in prayer. I was the lucky ducky that got to hold hands with Rodrick. He was being so annoying. He kept yanking my hand as Mr. Jefferson led us in prayer, Rodrick would mumble other things like "forgive me, please." " Emma, I'm sorry." " I think you're hot." After the last one, I stepped on his foot with the heal of my shoe. He let out a small scream and my dad frowned at me. I smiled innocently. It wasn't my fault he screamed.

The prayer ended, and thank God because I was starving. Rodrick and I got to grab food with the adults while the other children waited. When I saw the food, I wasn't too thrilled. Meatloaf, Brussels sprouts, fish with vegetables, tater tots, broccoli, fish sticks and fruit. My choices were very limited. I took a few tater tots, broccoli, fruit and fish sticks.

I waited for Valeria and we both went back to the living room. She sat beside me and ate quietly. Rodrick joined us and so did Frankie. " You like broccoli?" Rodrick asked. I nodded. It was one of my favorite vegetables. " Weirdo." For the love of all things good in this world, could he not call me names for a few hours?

" Can you say anything nice to me, for once?"

" I told you that you were hot a couple of minutes ago, what more do you want?" I put my plate down. Rodrick started picking off of the left over food that I didn't eat. What a pig. It was 10:32 when my parents decided it was time to go home. I picked up and already sleeping Valeria and grabbed Frankie from the video game he was playing.

When we were about to leave, my mom went back to talk to the ladies and my dad had to drag her out of the house. When we got home, everyone went to his or her respective rooms. I tucked Valeria into bed then went to sleep.

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><p><strong>Please leave a review. <strong>


	19. Halloween Fun

**Sorry I haven't been updating lately. Writer's block got to me, then I had my 8th grade graduation, luncheon, and after party, then I went back to school the next week to help out, then I got sick, and yesterday I had my IPad training for my high school. Soooooooooooooo yeah! That's what's been going on in my life. But as you see here *points to words not in bold* I have presented you with a new chapter in Emma's life.**

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><p>I looked at the party that was happening before my eyes, as I leaned against the white wall with the red cup full of alcohol in my hand. I brought the cup up to my lips and took a sip just as my cousin, Gala, walked up to me. She had a big ass smile on her face that said 'this is way better then trick or treating'. I smiled back at her as a boy from my school came up behind her and pulled her away. His name was Jason, and he was dressed as Jason from Friday The 13th.<p>

The only thing I regret about coming here is that I didn't have anyone to hang out with. Gala was suppose to stay with me, but I guess she just got so excited that we were actually doing something fun. It was only two hours ago that we were sitting at home; waiting for little children to come by, so we could hand out their yearly candy. Sean, Paisley, and Amber showed up unexpectedly, and to my surprise were able to convince my parents to let Gala and me go to Wendy Martin's Halloween party.

We quickly ran upstairs and changed into our costumes. Paisley helped curl my hair, and do my makeup while Amber did the same for Gala. Gala was dressed as a cute panda girl. Amber just thought her costume was to die for. I on the other hand wasn't too pleased with how my costume turned out. It must have been very dark in that store or I just believed what Carmen said was actually true. My red hair clashed with the red hood and red, black and white dress. I frowned at my reflection. The look on Paisley's face was pity.

She slowly took off the long brunette wig that covered her blonde hair. Paisley helped pin my hair up and put the wig in place. She along with Sean, Amber, and Gala stood back and looked.

" Not bad for a redhead," Gala said between giggles.

" I think you look hot as a brunette," Sean said winking. I pushed him playfully, then followed Amber and Paisley down stairs with Sean and Gala trailing behind us. I poked my head into the living room to see that my parents had returned from taking Frankie, Micah and Valeria trick or treating. I had to do a double take when I didn't see Frankie and Micah.

" Hey, where did the two pre teens go?" I asked.

" The real question is where did the rest of your clothes go?" My dad asked while looking me up and down. The Little Red Riding Hood dress was a lot shorter than I thought. I started to stutter, but my mom came to my rescue.

" Oh please Liam! Do you remember what girls wore when you were her age?" That made my dad sit back and think about it for a few seconds. He looked at me and closed his eyes.

" Just promise me you will stay out of trouble-"

" Remember to use protection, and if you drink, don't drive!" My mother once again interrupted. My dad sighed loudly then went back to watching TV. I kissed Valeria goodbye and walked out the front door with my friends and cousin.

The sound of howling snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned my head, and saw a group of teenage boys standing a few feet across from me. They were the ones making the pathetic attempts at enticing me to come over and 'play'. I stopped leaning on the wall and walked away before anything more could happen. Every one of my friends seemed busy flirting with other people. I went to go look Luke, and prayed that he would be here. I found one of his friends and tapped on their shoulder.

" Have you seen my brother?" I asked him. He looked puzzled for a moment. Duh Emma, you don't have red hair. People don't know who you are. " Do you know where Luke Night is?" He pointed me in the direction where I might find him.

I went up the stairs, and was only greeted by more drunk people...and look there is my brother...talking to his 'girlfriend'. They looked like they were arguing, so I think it's best to stay out of his way. I walked back downstairs and outside to get some fresh air. The music was even louder outside then in. I walked around the backyard for a bit, then leaned up against the outer wall and continued to drink from the cup that never left my hand.

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><p><strong>Rodrick Pov.<strong>

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><p>After failing many times to pick up girls, Ben, Chris and I went outside to see if there were any girls that we didn't hit on yet. Ben started to hit me rapidly in the arm.<p>

" Dude, what?" I snap at him.

" Look at that girl." He motions over to a girl dressed as Little Red Riding leaning against the wall alone. Every now and then she would take a sip from the red cup in her hands.

" Chris, can you go get me another drink?" Chris left then came back a few minutes later. I leave them and walk over to the girl.

" Hey." I try to say in a cool voice. She turns, looks at me, and then rolls her eyes. " Wait, before you leave, I got you a drink." I hold the red cup out for her. She sighs then takes it. I lean on the wall with her, and we stand there in silence for a few seconds.

" I like your costume."

" Look, can you just go away?" She says turning to me. The light from outside illuminates her face and her blue eyes shine bright. I notice that she has the prettiest eyes I've ever seen.

" You have really pretty eyes," I say speaking my thoughts. She looks taken back a bit.

" Excuse me? Are you serious? Do you know who you're talking to?"

" Yeah, I'm serious. They are really pretty." I step closer to her and move the dark hair out of her face. " I don't know you, but you've probably heard of me. I'm Rodrick, and I'm in a band called Loded Diper."

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><p><strong>Emma Pov.<strong>

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><p>I am literally mentally slapping myself a thousand times right now. Rodrick should know who I am. " Yeah, I've heard of your band. But you really don't know who I am?"<p>

" Rosalynn?"

" No." Once again I'm mentally slapping myself. I take a step to leave but he grabs my arm gently then pulls me into a kiss. I try to push away, but surprisingly he is really strong. God, I really need to workout. I give in and kiss him back. We stand there for a few minutes and what I believe to be the voices of his friends are cheering him on. I pull away successfully this time, and we just stare at each other for a few minutes.

I looked away then started to walk away from him slowly. Stuff like this shouldn't happen between us. Going against my better judgment, I turned around to have one last look at him. Rodrick was following me, and soon caught up to me. He took my hand and led me back into the house. I willingly followed him up the stairs and into an empty room. I sat down on the bed, as he locked the door. Rodrick walked over to me and sat down also.

He once again brushed some of the hair from the wig out of my face. We sat there for a few minutes in silence, except for the music that was playing. His hand was gently stroking mine. Rodrick leaned in closer and kissed my bare neck.

" No," I said trying to push him away. He pulled me into his lap and moved his lips from my neck to my lips. I sat there kissing him for a few seconds before feeling his hands trying to unzip my dress. I put my hands on his chest and push him backwards. Rodrick smiled then propped himself up again. I guess he thinks this is a game. His hands went back to work on unzipping the dress.

" I said no," I told him again. He sighed then slid his hands down to my waist. We…I mean he started kissing me again.

" You're so beautiful," He mumbled. Luckily, there was barely enough light in the room for him to see me blushing. 'Why am I still kissing you?' I thought to myself. But then again, this could be my chance to get revenge on him. Ha, when was having sex with someone you hate a form of revenge? The world will go to Hell if this happens. I pull away from him and get up.

" Where are you going?" Rodrick asks me.

I turn around with a smile on my face and say playfully, " Home. I have a paper to write for school." The second part was a lie. I would be totally screwed if there was a paper due Monday.

" Can I at least have your name or phone number?"

" No," I said then reaching for the door handle. Forgetting it's locked, I turned the knob and stepped right into the door. Rodrick laughed from where he was on the bed. I flipped him off then walked out. I searched the house for Gala, and when I found her, I had to drag her away from all of the boys around her.

" Come on; it's time to go home."

" No! I'm gaving soOoOoOoOoOo much fun! Shon't w-worry, I will get a persuun to drove me." Gala says laughing. She's obviously drunk.

" Ok..." I say then leave the party. As I was walking down the street, I pass a group of older boys that I believe were the same ones from the party, because they began to howl as I pass them. The group starts to walk closely behind me and one comes right up behind me, puts his arm around me, and walks with me.

" Is little red riding slut lost?" He asks. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. I pull away and start to walk as fast as my heels would allow me. God! The problems of wearing high heels at night!

" You aren't going to try to outrun the big bad wolf?" He asks. I don't respond but keep walking. A different one comes up behind me this time.

" Don't worry baby, I won't let that big bad wolf hurt you." They laugh at his joke. I see a corner up ahead and decide that's my chance to run. Once I turn the corner, I take off my shoes quickly, grab them and run. I could hear their footsteps chasing me. As much as I wanted to turn around and see how far they were behind me, I couldn't.

Having absolutely no idea where I was, I just kept running for dear life. Then up ahead I could see a very familiar person get out of their car. They turned to me as I run up to them. I ran into Rodrick and wrapped my arms around him. I never thought I would be so happy to see him. I turned my head around and saw the guys that were chasing me stopped a few feet away from us.

" Come on." Rodrick said leading me inside his house. Once inside, before he could say anything, I broke down and started sobbing into his chest. We stood standing for a few minutes before he started leading me upstairs to his room. I sat down on Rodrick's bed as he went to go get a box of tissues. By the time he came back, my sobbing went down to sniffling. I probably look so pathetic right now.

" Where are your parents?" I asked Rodrick, after getting a hold of my breathing.

" I don't know. They went out and haven't come back yet. You know, you can stay the night if you want." He says while taking a seat next to me again. I nod my head and I could see a smile on his face. I crawl closer to him and he holds me. He kisses me again, and I kiss him back. We are in the same position as we were at the party. I jump a bit when the light in his room cuts off unexpectedly.

He laughs a bit. " They say that it's better with the lights off." Rodrick says. We both start to laugh. " You have a very cute laugh." **(Before reading any further, I just want to say that I have NEVER written something like this. And well the rating is T so I won't be going into detail. I will just imply. But if you are offended, just skip this part)**

" Thanks." We go back to making out and like a few hours ago, Rodrick tries to unzip my dress. I let him and well things just went uphill from there.

I would never say this to anyone but Rodrick is waaaaaaay better than Alejandro. Shh, don't tell him that. It was such a pleasurable experience that we both kept going even after we both came. During the middle of it, I had to take off my wig because it became too hot to keep on.

" What are you doing?" Rodrick asked when he noticed that I stopped moving.

" I'm just taking my wig off." I said quietly. I un-pinned my hair, and it fell all the way to my lower back. I put the wig on top of where my dress and other clothes were. We then went back to finishing what we started. I became really tired and couldn't keep going any longer. " Can we stop?" I asked Rodrick. He pulled away from me and we lay next to each other in his bed. He kissed my forehead and I kissed him on the lips. " Don't be mad in the morning, okay?" I told him.

" Why would I be mad at someone as beautiful as you?" He said laughing.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep next to my 'enemy'. But could I consider him someone I hate still? Yes, Rodrick could be mean and heartless when he wanted to

Be, but he could also be sweet and caring. Maybe, just maybe, we could actually be friends this time. I think I will talk to him about this in the morning.

I opened my eyes and saw Rodrick staring at me intensely. Remembering what happened last night or early this morning brought a smile to my face. Why wasn't Rodrick smiling back? He was now glaring at me.

" Are you ok?" I asked him.

" What the fuck, Emma." My smile disappeared. My fantasy of us being friends was immediately crushed to oblivion.

" I asked you not to be mad at me in the morning."

" Yeah, I only agreed because I thought you weren't you. If I knew who you were at the party then I would have never bothered talking to you!" Rodrick was starting to shout. " I asked you multiple time who you were but you never told me!" He was literally screaming at me.

" How do you not know who you are talking to? We have talked so many time that you should be able know me by the sound of my voice! Plus you know what I look like as a brunette!"

I guess his parents were home because his mom came into his room and saw the two of us sitting in bed together. It was obvious we had no clothes on because I was holding that sheet up to my chest.

" Rodrick Heffley!" His mother yelled at him.

" Mom, it's not what you think."

" Oh really, what is this then?" No one gave her an answer. " Emma, I'm going to call your parents right now." She left us alone again. Rodrick and I sat on his bed in silence for a while. I sighed then got out of bed to get my clothes. As I was putting my clothes on, I felt like he was watching me. I turned around, and sure enough Rodrick was starring.

" Can you not stare?" I hissed at him then went back to getting dressed.

" How did I not notice this last night?" he said to himself.

" Because you're fucking blind as a bat and have terrible memory."

" No, I mean that you have really small boobs." I grabbed the closest object next to me, it was a book, and threw it at him. It hit him and he cried out in pain, but I didn't really care. I was more focused on zipping this dress up.

" Wow, I zipped you down last night and I'm zipping you up in the morning." I heard the sound of the zipper zip up. He sighed then pulled me into a hug.

" You better have clothes on."

" Stop whining, I do. But you weren't complaining last night about not having clothes." He said into my hair. Rodrick moved my hair out of his way then kissed the back of my neck. It sent chills down my spine. His mom came back in and saw how we were. She looked confused for a few seconds but shook it off.

" Emma, your parents are going to be here in a few minutes."

" Thanks." I left Rodrick's embrace and walked downstairs to wait for my parents. They arrived 10 minutes later. My mom talked to Susan, while my dad talked to Frank. Francisco came with my parents and immediately went to go talk to Rodrick, but was dragged away from him by Greg. Rodrick stared at me from across the room. We left the Heffley household after 30 minutes of nonstop talk about what went on between Rodrick and I.

My dad was more upset than my mom. " What did I say before you left to go to the party?"

" You said to stay out of trouble, and I stayed out of trouble by staying over at Rodrick's house." It was awkward explaining to my parents what went on between us, but my mom seemed to take to it lightly.

" Well, at least you used protection." My dad sighed loudly.

" Next time, just please be MORE careful," He said as we pulled up to our house.

" Yes daddy." I said giving him a kiss on the cheek then running into our home. I went up stairs to see Gala awake and reading a magazine.

" So, I heard you got some also last night. Tell me all the details," She said smirking. I sat down on my bed and told all that happened.

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><p><strong>And that's the end of this chapter. Next chapter will be whenever I can get to it. But if you have any ideas, I would be more than happy to read them. Have a nice day. Also please review and constructive criticism only.<strong>


	20. Dog Days Are Over

**Yay I'm so happy I was able to update. Also, if anyone wanted to know, I just found out what the different between 'heel' and 'heal' is. FML *face palm* One last thing, this is a sad chapter depending on how you see it.**

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><p>My aunt and uncle came by to pick up my cousins, Gala and Micah, this morning. My mom invited them to stay for breakfast, and they happily agreed to it. Gala, Valeria, and I were in the kitchen with our moms while the 'men' were watching TV in the family room. Gala and I were trying to teach Valeria how to make pancakes. After many failed attempts, she got the hang of it. Soon, we were all siting around the dining room table eating breakfast.<p>

" Emma, how has school been going for you?" My uncle asked me. I smiled and responded, after taking a sip of orange juice.

" It's had its ups and downs…but I think I will get through the school year without dying," My Uncle laughed.

" And what about you Luke? You're going off to college next year. Have any thoughts of where you might be going?" He asked Luke.

" You know, it's so early in the school year to be thinking about where I really want to go, but I do have a few choice schools such as Alabama, Notre Dame, Stanford, or Florida. I think I'm going to go and look at some schools over winter and spring break." Basically my brother wanted to go somewhere that had a good football team, and if one of the schools offered him a football scholarship, he would take it. I think it's safe to say that my brother wants to go to the NFL, but if anyone was wondering what he is going to major in; the answer is UNDECIDED.

My phone buzzed, and I looked at the screen. It was a text message from Rodrick. God dammit, why now? I turned my phone face down, and went back to eating breakfast. My aunt looked at me with a Cheshire cat smile on her face.

" Is that your boyfriend?" The sound of my dad choking on his orange juice was heard in the background. I looked at Gala, and she gave me that look. You know, the look that your friends give you when they know something the people around them don't know.

" No, he's just my…um, friend." I said. Is it safe to say that Rodrick and I are 'friends' or at cease-fire?

" It's ok, I understand. Your mother and I will talk later." My mom and aunt exchanged looks, and both smiled at each other. God, why did they have to be so creepy about this?

Breakfast was over, and it was time for Gala and Micah to leave. Gala and I hugged for the longest time ever. She took my face in her hands and looked me in the eyes. " Don't worry Emma. I will see you again during Christmas, I promise," she whispered the last part like it was a fucking dramatic movie. We gave each other one more hug, and then she went to her car. Micah, my younger cousin, gave me a high five and a hug before saying goodbye to my younger siblings and parents.

" Bye Aunt Hannah; bye Uncle Joey!" Valeria and Frankie said in perfect unison. My dad closed the door, and I went back upstairs to finish my Spanish homework.

* * *

><p>Luke offered to drive me home today, since practice was canceled. Amber wanted to hang out at my house after school, so she came with us. Luke doesn't really like Amber, but Amber LOVES Luke. The whole car ride was made up of Amber asking Luke the most awkward questions. Questions like: What type of shampoo do you use? What's your favorite drink? What's it like playing football? Do you like tennis? What's your favorite type of soup?<p>

Amber was sitting in the backseat, so Luke was making weird faces every time she talked. If it wasn't obvious, he is clearly annoyed by her. I was laughing the whole ride, also. " This is payback for driving Rodrick to school at the begging of the year," I whispered to him.

" I was being a good citizen, and giving him a ride. You on the other hand deliberately brought a girl with serious issues into my car. I will get you back for this."

" Do you prefer bottom or-," Luke cut Amber off before she could finish.

" OH LOOK! WE'RE HOME!" Luke shouted. He wasted no time pulling the keys out of the ignition and heading to the door.

" I'm starting to get the impression that your brother doesn't like me," Amber pouted. I rolled my eyes then got out of the car. Luke opened the door for us, and we walked in.

" Mom, we're home," I announced when we walked in the door. My mom is taking leave from work because of Frankie and Valeria. She is working on getting them enrolled into the school system. My mom doesn't answer back, but Valeria comes running up to us. She doesn't look too happy.

" Where's mom?" Luke asks.

" In the backyard. Cerbby," Valeria has a hard time pronouncing his full name, so she just calls him Cerbby," Isn't feeling well." I look at my brother and he shrugs his shoulders. We drop our backpacks and follow Valeria outside. My mom is on the phone, so we don't say anything. Cerberus is lying in front of her. Frankie is to my mom's left and Cody is lying right next to Cerberus. Cody whines, and I go over and pet him.

" What's wrong boy?" I ask him. He whines some more.

" Alright, thank you. We will be as soon as possible," Mom says into the phone then hangs up. She goes inside, and I follow closely behind her.

" Mom, what's going on?"

" We are going to take him to the vet to see what is wrong," She says. " Grab a jacket, I don't know how long we are going to be there for." I run upstairs and grab a jacket for Valeria and me then go back downstairs and to the backyard. I guess my mom is outside getting the car ready, because she isn't out there. I go and kneel down next to my dog of 5 years.

My mom calls for Luke and me. We get up to see what she wants. " See if you can walk him over to the car." I nod my head and go back to where my dog was. I grabbed his leash and clipped it to the collar.

" Come on Cerberus! Let's go for a car ride." I say to him. Cerberus lifts his head and looks at me with sorrow filled eyes. Slowly, he gets up and starts to walk with me. I lead him to the trunk of the car where Luke and mom are waiting. Luke bends down and attempts to put him into back seat.

" Easy Luke. I don't want you to hurt him or hurt yourself," My mom says. Luke succeeds at putting Cerberus in the back of the car. I run back through the gate to get Valeria and Francisco.

" Come on, we are leaving now." Before they could get up, Cody starts to sprint out the gate. We don't have time to go chasing a dog down the neighborhood. Cody runs past my mom, and down the street.

" We don't have time for this. Emma, Amber go get him, and when your dad gets home tell him to drive you to the Veterinarian." My mom, Luke, Frankie and Valeria get into the car and drive off in the opposite direction.

Amber and I run down the sidewalk, looking for Cody. That rascal, what does he think he's doing? " Cody!" I call his name. There is a rustling in the bushes beside us, and out jumps Cody. I guess he thinks he's playing hide and seek. Cody stands on the sidewalk, looking at me. When I make a forward movement, he freaks out and starts running again. We continue to Chase after him. We pass by people, but none of them even try to make the effort of helping us.

" Damn, your dog is fast," Amber, says while we run.

" No shit Sherlock, it's a dog!" We continue to chase Cody down the block. We take a moment to rest, and so does he. Cody is lays down on the sidewalk, but his eyes never leave us. What is he thinking? When Amber gets up from the ground; so does he. The chase starts all over again.

We turn one of the corners, and another dog is rolling around in the grass outside it's home. Or what I assumed to be it's home, because the home it was laying outside of was the Heffley's. I became even more nervous when Cody ran up and tackled the other dog. He looked like he wanted to play, but I'm not really sure. I glanced at towards the garage door, and saw that it was open. I hope there Rodrick's band isn't practicing today.

Amber and I started to walk towards the two dogs, and that's when things started to get out of control. Cody had the other dog pinned down, and the two were growling at each other. I think they were trying to decide who was more dominant. Rodrick came out of the garage, along with him band mates, to probably see what the two dogs were doing.

Rodrick looked towards us then started to yell, "Get your dog off of him!" We ran up to Cody, and I managed to grab his collar. As I pulled him away, he continued to bark at the other dog. Rodrick and I held onto our dogs tightly. Cody was very determined to do whatever he wanted to do to that dog. Mr. and Mr. Heffley, also Greg and Rowley, came outside to see what was going on. Susan gasped at the sight of the growling/barking animals. Rodrick's dog, who's name I learned was Sweety, slipped out of Rodrick's grip and came running toward us. Instinctively I let go of Cody, and the two dogs were at it again.

" Frank do something!" Susan screamed at her husband. The expressions on Greg and Rowley's face told me that they thought this was more exciting than what they were doing before. Frank tried to break the dogs up without getting bit, but it was too hard. I tried to grab Cody, but he was moving around too much. Luckily, the 'fight' only lasted a few more minutes. Cody's dominance over Sweety was established, and all was well in the world again. With my hand around Cody's collar, I walked up to the family.

" I'm so sorry Mrs. Heffley. My other dog isn't feeling very well, and my mom, brother, and two younger siblings went to go take him to the veterinarian. Cody got out of the gate before we could close it. Amber and I were chasing him up and down the street. I'm so sorry," I really didn't know how to explain his actions. Cody has never attacked another dog in his life.

" It's ok. At least nobody was hurt," She said motherly. Frank took Sweety into the backyard, while Amber and I stood there with Cody. Rodrick and his friends came up to us.

" Have you been avoiding me?" he asked randomly. I looked up from the ground, and at him.

" No," I lied. I have been partially avoiding him for a few days, but it's not like whenever I see him I go the opposite direction.

" Mhmm," was all he said at first, " Well we're practicing for the talent show right now. You could watch if you want." And have my ears damaged for the rest of my life? I'll take a rain check. I was about to give him an answer, but Amber beat me to it.

" Sure," She said happily. I'm tired of her speaking for me. Amber took my hand, and dragged Cody and me into the garage. Cody sat on the floor while we sat on top of the counter. They started playing, and it was better than I thought. Sure they could use some more practice, and better lyrics for their songs. I doubt they could win, but I don't know what everyone else is doing. I guess when they finished, they expected wild applause from us, but all we did was sit there.

" So, what do you think?" Ben asked us. Amber and I looked at each other then Amber shrugged her shoulders and I sighed.

" Well you're definitely not Fall Out Boy, but there is room for improvement," I finally said. They all smiled except Ben.

" Like you could do any better?" I thought for a moment. I only know how to play three instruments, piano, guitar, and somewhat violin. I'm a fairly good singer, who makes up random songs. I'm no Beyoncé, but I can hold a tune.

" You're right, for once. I can't do any better than you guys. I don't know how to play an instrument, and I'm not even close to as a fabulous singer like you," I told Ben. Rodrick looked surprised when I said I didn't know how to play an instrument. Memories of his mother dragging him to my recitals probably burned in his head. Amber and I got up and left. Well tried to leave.

Mom wasn't home, and my dad was still at work. I pulled out my phone and texted him everything that had happened so far. He replied back quickly saying that he will take Amber and me over when he gets there. I was instructed to stay at the Heffley's household until he came to pick me up. Amber, Cody, and I sat on the grass just outside of the home. Life was slowly becoming boring right now. After a couple of minutes, Rodrick joined us on the grass. Amber and I looked at him suspiciously.

" Band practice is over, the guys are heading home," Was all he said. Rodrick moved closer to me, which made Cody growled. Amber shushed the dog, but that didn't stop Cody from coming and lying down next to me. He never really liked Rodrick that much. I think it was the fact the he was tall. Not like my brother and dad isn't tall, it's just that Rodrick never got down to Cody's level.

" I thought you played the piano?" He asked breaking the peaceful, boring silence that surrounded us. I sighed then looked at him.

" I found it easier to let Ben think he and your band is better than me then explain that I know how to play more instruments than him and sing better." Rodrick laughed.

" He's just nervous about the show, and I didn't know you can sing. Well I did hear you singi one time in the girl's locker room." Amber laughed, and that day came back into mind. I shook my head trying to forget.

" I dabble in the art. I also have my on band. We call ourselves, 'The People Who Don't Give A Fuck' " My little joke had both Amber and Rodrick laughing hysterically. After the laughter calmed down, Rodrick put his arm around me. Amber saw and looked at me with those big hazel eyes of hers. I smiled at her, and we continue to sit there. I didn't really like it, but I leaned against Rodrick for the rest of the time.

My dad pulled up later, and I pushed Rodrick's arm off of me. But it was too late, my dad already saw. Frank came out and greeted my dad warmly. They chatted for a bit, while Greg and Rowley played with Cody. Amber, Rodrick, and I leaned up against my dad's car and had our own conversation.

" So are we at cease fire?" I asked Rodrick. He looked at me and smirked.

" No. I'm still going to annoy the shit out of you." Rodrick seemed like he was going to keep his word, but I don't think it will be as bad as before. I sighed then looked at Amber. She whistled for Cody, and we all climbed into the backseat of the car. My dad came after a few minutes and we drove to the veterinarian.

My stomach started to do flips when we arrived. We got out of the car and walked into the building. A lady with the name Rachelle written on her nametag greeted us. " You must be Cerberus's family. Right this way," Rachelle said then led us to the room where the rest of our family was.

My mom got up from where she was sitting, and pulled my dad back out into the hallway to talk. I sat on my brother's lap, and we waited. Cerberus wasn't here, but he was in here for a while. Cody's nose was to the ground, and he was going crazy looking for his friend. I felt bad for him. Our parents came back in and leaned against the wall. We sat in silence for a few more minutes until the doctor came in. No one looked at him until he cleared his throat.

" It's nice to see that the whole family came tonight. I have some solemn news for you though. You're dog, Cerberus, he's been through a lot over the past two years. You have known he has had hip dysplasia, but we found some tumors on parts of his spinal cord and think he may be slowly going into failure of the liver. Mr. and Mrs. Night, can I talk to you in private for one moment?" My parents followed the veterinarian out of the office. Cody started to whine excessively like he understood everything the doctor told him.

Our parents came back into the room with the doctor and Cerberus. " I think the best thing we can do for him is let him go. He's old, and it's time to let go," My dad told us. One by one we each went up to our family dog, and said our last goodbyes. Even Amber said a little goodbye. I kissed his forehead then watched as they took him away. His dog days are over, at least he will be in paradise. Valeria was crying softly in my arms, while I carried her to the car. I drove home with my dad, Valeria, and Amber. We dropped Amber off at her house then drove home.

Luke and I stayed up till midnight to finish our homework. I started to fall asleep on the couch, and Luke had to carry me bed. He didn't mind, because of what happened tonight. I tucked myself into bed and lay there for a few moments as a few tears dropped down from my eyes. I guess that's just life.

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><p><strong>I know Greg doesn't have a dog, when you compare this story to the books or movie. I just thought it would be cool if they like already had before they really have it. That doesn't make any sense<strong>**…****anyway please review. I really enjoy reading them. Also, I think I'm on a pretty good track of updating, but I'm moving to Hawaii soon so I don't know if I can be able to update. That's the life of a military child, sadly. Once again please review! :)**


	21. Blue Eyes

**Sorry it's short. It's just a filler. I feel terrible for giving you a filler chapter. Also, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!**

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><p>Last nights events put me in a very bad mood in the morning. Even Luke, who is normally cheery after a tragic event, couldn't seem to find his happy face. We both had lost appetites, and became antisocial to the rest of the family. Valeria and Frankie were also following in their older siblings footsteps, and were acting moody as well. On the way to school, neither Luke nor I had the will to talk to each other. Also, the radio wasn't an option because the first song that came on was a sad one. School was even worse. Everything I saw or heard reminded me of my dog in some way or another. During the time in between one of my classes, one of Luke's friends came up to me and asked if he was feeling ok. I had to explain that our dog had died last night, and the whole family was taking it kind of hard.<p>

Luke's friend left shortly after that. I guess he was going to go and consult my brother, or something. I bent down to my locker so I could exchange my English textbook for my math. Paisley greeted me when I stood back up again. She smiled wide, and gave me a tight hug. Luke wasn't the only one avoiding close friends today. During class, I sat a little ways away from my normal group.

" You're brother told me what happened; I'm sorry for your loss. At least you have Cody," Paisley said it as if a person in my family had died. Well, I guess by the way we have been treating Cerberus's death; you could easily think that he was a real person, and not a dog. I gave her a hug back, and we talked for a bi until Rodrick came for his books.

" Hey blue eyes," he teased. I got his joke, but I wasn't in the mood for any of it today. Paisley looked at him with an ' I'm going to throw up' face. When I gave no response to his comment, he tapped me lightly on the shoulder.

" Did something happen?" Rodrick asked. Paisley answered his question for me.

" They had to put her dog down last night. But it's not like you care or anything," Paisley replied very snobbishly. Rodrick looked taken back a bit. Without saying another word, he grabbed his books and left us alone. That was a surprise for once. Usually it takes a couple of tries to get him to quick bothering us, but this time he left so easily. I kind of felt bad, but at the same time I didn't because what Paisley said isn't even half as bad as the things I say to him. I guess she felt a sense of pride in herself now, because Paisley was acting like she was the boss for the rest of the day.

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><p>I didn't want to walk home, and I didn't want anyone but my brother to drive me home. My only option was to sit on the bleachers, and wait for my Luke's practice to be over. It was a nice release from my normal routine. Seeing the football coach yell at the guys was funny to me. Every once in a while I would look up from my homework and see him yelling at one of the freshmen that happened to make the varsity team this year. Chase was able to make varsity, but he had terrible communication skills with the coach and the rest of the team.<p>

Paisley was also on the field for her cheerleading practice. They were practicing to do a pyramid that they were going to do for the first home game in a few weeks during half time. Even though she was new to cheerleading, they let her be one of the three people at the top. I think it's only because she's one of the lighter girls on the team. When Paisley stood at the top, I pointed at her and she flashed me a smile.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Rodrick standing a few feet away from me on a lower bleacher. He looked like he was looking for someone. I guess that someone was I, because when he caught the sight of my face, Rodrick came walking up the bleachers to where I was. He tried to sit next to me, but my books were in the way. My mood had lightened up since our first encounter this morning, so I moved my books for him to be able to sit down somewhat next to me.

" I'm sorry about your dog," was the first thing he said. His condolence sounded sincere, so I took it. I nodded my head, but continued to stare out onto the field. Our usual awkward silence rested in between us. This conversation could go any way now.

" I can get you a new one?" I burst out laughing. I turned toward him for brief second to see if he was actually serious. He looked it, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

" You can get me a new dog if you wish, but that doesn't mean it replace Cerberus. He will always have a special place in my heart that no one could ever replace," I told him.

" I'm going to get you a new dog," Rodrick stated with more confidence, " I know it won't replace the one you lost, but I can't stand to see you upset." I turned and looked at him. What did he just say?

" I mean I can't let you be unhappy over the death of your dog. I'm the one who is suppose to make your life unhappy. But this dead dog of yours is stealing my spotlight." Okay, he's starting to make sense again. I looked back at the field to see my brother staring at us. He pointed at Rodrick, and Rodrick responded by waving to him. I joined in waving at my brother, but he turned his back to us. He was clearly pissed off at the sight of Rodrick sitting next to his little sister, and making her laugh.

" Just tell me what type of dog you want?"

" Speaking of dogs, did you get one?" I asked avoiding the question that was presented first. Rodrick ran his hands through his dark hair and laid back on the bleacher.

" Yeah, my dad got a dog. It was like a little surprise gift for my brothers and I. The reason you didn't see him when you were over Saturday was because it was in the backyard. What type of dog would you like?" He asked me again. I laughed and looked at the ground.

" I don't know."

" Name some dogs you like." Rodrick tore a page from my notebook and my pen. He was ready to write down whatever I said.

" Pitt Bull, Husky, Dachshund, Doberman, Chow Chow, French Bull Dog, Dalmatian, Miniature Pinscher, Great Dane, German Shepherd, Bulldog, Pug, Chihuahua, Grey Hound, Papillon, Beagle, Tibetan Spaniel, and Fox Hound," I just started naming dog breeds I knew. It looked like Rodrick had written down every thing I said. He got up from where he was sitting and ran off with my pen. Great, that was my last one.

" Thanks," Rodrick said after coming back. He kissed me on the cheek, and then someone on the field screamed. I turned to see Paisley had fallen from the top of the pyramid. Poor Paisley. Rodrick was gone by the time I turned back to face him. At least he left the pen this time. I could see Luke motion for me to come over to him. Football practice was over, and most people were leaving the field. I packed up my books and walked down the bleachers. He seemed really upset while we walked to the car.

" Why were you talking to him?" He asked when we were alone in the car. I looked at him puzzled.

" Who?"

" Don't play dumb Emma. You know who." I couldn't avoid this conversation even if I jumped out of the car right now.

" He felt bad for us, so he wanted to get another dog for us," I told Luke. I replaced 'me' with 'us' so Luke wouldn't get too upset. Surprisingly, he laughed. He actually sounded like my older brother that I know and love.

" Yeah right, like he could actually afford a dog," Luke scoffed. Minutes later, we pulled up to the side of our house. My mom looked happy to see us enter with smiles on our faces. I dropped my backpack, and took Luke for a walk with Valeria and Frankie.

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><p><strong>Please review. <strong>


	22. Little Sister

**Ok, so maybe the last chapter wasn't that short…anyway I made a new one. I guess that was kind of obvious. This is getting awkward so I'm going to stop typing now. Review at the end, if you wish.**

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><p>Things in my family have finally gotten back to normal, after two weeks of my dog being dead. Luke is starting to be less socially awkward, Valeria and Frankie are accepting that Cody is our only dog at the moment, my dad still works hard, my mom was able to get Frankie enrolled into middle school and Valeria into elementary school after Thanksgiving Break, and I am once again at the end of my rope with Rodrick. I guess being nice to me got to be too hard for him to handle, so he just reverted back to his original ways.<p>

Thanksgiving Break is only a few days away, but it feels like eternity. Homework was a pain in the ass also, especially math. What do all of these formulas mean? It's barley halfway through my sophomore year, and I am already raising the white flag. I have brought shame on my family. My nights consisted of mom helping me with my math and Spanish, and my dad helping me in chemistry. Luke would once in a while guide me in the right path, if my parents were too busy doing other things. Hopefully I could rest this Thanksgiving, and repair my brain for school.

But today is Saturday, so maybe I should rest today since no one is home. Mom went to work to catch up on a few things, dad is at his office again working on a case, Luke has practice, and Frankie got invited over to Greg's house. I would have taken him, but I wasn't in the mood for any more smartass comments about the way I look from Rodrick. That only left Valeria, Cody, and me all alone today. We spent most of the morning sitting in front of the TV watching recorded episodes of Pretty Little Liars. I was trying to get her into the show, and to my surprise, she took very well to it.

" I'm bored," she turned around and said to me. I nodded my head in agreement. Sitting around all day isn't that productive for a child's mind. Valeria stood up, and walked away. Curious to know what she was up to, I followed after her. The downstairs hallway was empty, and most of the doors were closed except for the one at the end. When I peered inside, Valeria sat at the piano that I used for lesson as a little kid. I walked inside the little 'library' and sat next to her on the bench. Valeria touched multiple keys simultaneously, causing them to make a noise of much discordance. She turned to me and smiled, thinking she had made the best sound in the world. I patted her head without a word.

" Do you know how to play?" she asked me, still touching the keys one by one. I nodded my head. It was clear what she would ask me next. " Can you play a song for me?" As much as I didn't want to, I didn't want you let down my younger sibling. I stood up from the bench and walked over to the bookshelf where I had kept most of the songs I knew in a folder. I flipped through it really fast until I found a nice little song that wasn't too long nor to short. After pulling the two sheets of music out of the binder, I returned to the piano bench. My first attempt failed miserably, but once I started from the beginning again, I remembered how the song went. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Valeria stare at my hands as the touched the keys on the piano. It wasn't long before I was finished.

" Can you teach me?" Valeria asked a few minutes after I had finished. I shrugged my shoulders.

" Ask mom to get you lessons," I told her then got up and left the room. She followed right behind me whining.

" No, I want you to teach me. Please!" She begged me the rest of the day, dinner, and all through the night to teach her. Valeria had fallen asleep next to me in my bed. When I got up for school, she woke up also. She followed waited for me outside of the bathroom, and started to beg again.

" My little sister has been begging me to teach her how to play the piano," I said to Amber as we walked to 3rd period. During the middle of class, my phone buzzed and a text message from my mom appeared o the screen.

_Please teach me Emma. I will love you forever._ It was obvious that it was Valeria texting from my mom's phone. I texted her back a quick message from under the desk.

_Valeria, you aren't suppose to be texting from mom's phone without her permissions, and you aren't suppose to be texting me while I'm in school. I will teach you how to play the piano, just stop whining. Actually, why don't you start practicing so when I get home we can go over it?_ After texting the message, my phone buzzed again. Valeria sent me a smiley face text. From behind me, the teacher snatched the phone out of my hands and made a scene about it.

" I don't know if I was clear, but when I say no texting in my class then I mean NO TEXTING IN MY CLASS. I don't care if your mom is texting you," She nearly screamed at me. Someone was on her period today. Luckily, she handed me my phone back at the end of class an apologized for her rude behavior. Amber poked fun at me for the rest of the day. When I got home, Valeria tried to tackle-hug me to the ground. My mom appeared from around the wall.

" It's nice to see you teaching Valeria how to play the piano. Speaking of piano, do you want to participate in the talent show?" I didn't have to think about it for a second.

" No, the talent show is lame," I respond. My mom tilts her head to the side.

" Well since you don't want to participate, I have a friend who needs a few volunteers to help out back stage. I told him I would ask you if you wanted to do it."

" No, I'm good." Mom sighed then went back to what ever she was doing. Valeria pulled me towards the miniature library, with much force. " Come on! Come on!" she kept saying to me. I was happy she was going to enjoy this, or else I would have never agreed. We went over the basics bit-by-bit. Valeria used my old beginner piano books for songs. Once in a while I would have to show her how to play, but she was catching along pretty fast.

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><p><strong>I'm sorry; I know it's short. I've just been doing so much for the past few days, and I wanted to update. Next update will be better, that's a promise! I will start working on it right now...or maybe in a few days. Also I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who reviewed. I also wanted to respond to three.<strong>

_**FrostyDucky**_**:** **It is NEVER too late to recommend any type of pastry to me. Thank you so much! **

_**hayhayEM:**_** I adore huskies also…their eyes are just so captivating. I wish my dog had blue eyes (she has like amber color type of eye) Who knows, maybe she just might ;) or was Rodrick jus joking 0_0**

_**bronze Dragon:**_** I don't know. Depends on how badly I want to change the story. Maybe Rodrick get's sick and can't play, and Emma has to take his place in the talent show…**

**So that's all for now, and thank you to everyone else who reviewed! I really do appreciate the feedback. I'm in the midst of moving at this moment so I might not update for another billion years. I'm also going back a revising previous chapters that might have a few ****errors or things I don't like, so that takes some time also. Have a good summer!**


	23. Mr Perfect

**I had so much fun with my cousins last week! I'm happy to be able to finally write and post a new chapter. Also, there is a special surprise in this chapter. Someone has feelings for Emma, but I won't say whom.**

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><p>Thanksgiving wasn't anything 'special' except that my dad's side of the family flew in from New York to celebrate with us. They flew in one day, spent the night, had dinner the next day, and left early the next morning. It seemed that my friends had a much more successful Thanksgiving than I did. There was talk of what type of food my mom made, or what my grandmother baked. For the next week, you could see teenagers in the cafeteria eating some of their leftover Thanksgiving meals. I on the other hand had a regular tuna sandwich. One day, after class had been going on for 10 minutes, the lady from the office, a fairly tall male teenager, a large muscular man, and a short pudgy woman stepped into the classroom. Mr. Ross and everyone else in the class stopped what they were doing and looked towards what I believed was a family taking a look at the school.<p>

" Can I help you?" Mr. Ross directed his question to the woman who worked at the administration office. She flashed a smile a shook her head.

" No, I was just letting the Moore family see what our English classroom looked like. Their son, Jasper, said he really enjoys art, drama, and English literature. They just moved from Manchester." The father nodded his head.

" My job required me to move from Manchester to here. It's been a difficult move, but we hope that this could be the right school for Jasper," Mr. Moore spoke in a full on English accent. I looked towards Jasper. He seemed quite calm, unlike when I use to take tours of schools in California.

" Well, my name is Mr. Ross, and I will be your English and drama teacher if you are interested in drama. I was just about to go over the field trip I had been planning for them, " Mr. Ross gestured to us, " We are going to visit the Cincinnati Art Museum in about a week."

" Sounds fun," Jasper replied in an English accent like his dad. The administrative lady pulled the family out of the classroom, and left Mr. Ross to explain the rest of the details of our trip to us. After class, Paisley couldn't stop talking about the boy. And the next day she was still talking about him. On Thursday, Jasper showed up again in our class. It was official; Jasper was now part of our student body. I never got a chance to talk to him until the end of the day.

The class that I barley knew any one in, Jasper was in. He sat down next to me as I was finishing some math homework.

" Hi," He started.

" Hey," I didn't look up from my math book.

" What's your name?"

"Emma."

" Do you want to go on a date?" I looked up from my homework.

" What?"

" Good, now I have your attention. My name is-"

" I know your name already. It's Jasper Moore, and you're from Manchester. Big whoop." I didn't mean to be cold, but I wasn't in the mood for talking. Rodrick already harassed me again today, and the action of talking to someone wasn't really in my mind set at the moment.

" Had a bad day?" I nodded my head, " Well, just know that I think that you are really pretty and I'm sure whatever happened will go away." I almost laughed. The only way my suffering could end was if Rodrick died. Even then, he would probably torment me in the after life. Class finished, and Jasper followed me out of the room and towards my locker where Rodrick was waiting on me like always.

" Go away, I'm not in the mood," I said bending down to my locker. I could hear talking, but none of it was directed to me. I stood up and saw Jasper talking casually to Rodrick. He had a cheery smile on his face, and seemed to be enjoying this little 'chat'. Rodrick, Ben, and Jason all walked away a few seconds later. I don't care what Jasper said, but I now know that we will be great friends.

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><p>Jasper was accepted into my group of friends, and Paisley was literally drooling over him even more. He hung out with us over the weekend, and spent Friday night with Chase and Santana. On the day of the field trip, we were going to take a bus up to the theater. As I was about to sit down next to Jasper, Rodrick shoved me to the way back. No one even sat close to us.<p>

"What's your problem?" I hissed at him. I was not in the mood to fuck around right now. He dug in his pockets until he pulled out a piece of crumpled paper.

"I found some ads about dogs. I didn't know if you wanted a puppy or something full grown, so I just wrote them all down on a piece of paper." I looked Rodrick in the eyes to make sure he was serious. I sighed then looked the other way.

" You're joking, right? You pulled me away just to talk to me about a stupid dog?" I got up to move back over to Jasper, but Rodrick pulled me back down.

" What do you mean 'stupid dog'? If I remember correctly, you were literally shutting down because your 'stupid dog' died."

" He wasn't just any stupid dog; he was my best friend, and no other dog can replace him. Also, don't get me any thing. I don't want your sympathy." I got up again, but this time Mr. Ross told me to sit down since the bus was already in motion. I groaned then sat back down.

" Why is the new kid always hanging around you?"

" Why are you always hanging around me?"

" I'm serious."

" So am I…He has a name, you know? It's Jasper, and you probably should use it instead of referring to him as 'the new kid'." I looked at Jasper, and at the same time he turned around to look at me. He made a goofy face and I giggled. Jasper's eye shifted to what I believed was Rodrick, and then he turned back around.

" What did you do?" I asked Rodrick.

" Nothing. I just looked at him." Rodrick put his hands in the air innocently. Amber, Paisley, and I did a three-way chat over our phones for the rest of the ride.

Jasper and I walked around the museum, alone except for Rodrick and two of his friends were walking about 10 or 12 meters behind us. Once in a while, I would turn around and try to get Rodrick to go away, but he would just look at me with this 'what' expression. I think Jasper started to notice it because he seemed a bit annoyed.

" When we turn the corner, run to the next," Jasper whispered to me. I did as he instructed and once we turned the corner, we ran until they weren't behind us anymore.

" Thanks," I said. He smiled then took my hand. I felt a blush wash over my face.

" Your boyfriend is crazy," he finally said. I did a double take.

" What? Rodrick is not my boyfriend. He's actually far from it." Jasper seemed quite surprised yet pleased with my response.

" Oh, sorry. I just thought since guys were always talking to each other, and since he was always hanging around you. You even gave him money once."

" He stole it from me. It's a long story about us…" Jasper sat down on one of the benches.

" We've got time," he said checking his watch. I sat down next to him, and explained everything that has happened since birth to sophomore year. He looked shocked, after I finished.

" What a jerk," Jasper said. I laughed at his accent. It was so adorable, " Maybe if you and I went on a date, that would take your mind off of him, and I could be your new obsession." I smiled then he kissed me.

" How about Sunday at 8:30?"

" That would be perfect, love." God, my heart just melted. I think I just met Mr. Perfect. We walked around the museum some more until it was time to head back to the bus. I sat next to the window while Jasper sat on the aisle side. We were one of the first people on the bus, and had to wait for every one. Amber and Paisley wore smiles when they saw me resting my head on Jasper's shoulder. They sat behind us, and I could hear Paisley mumble curse words at me jokingly. Sean sat in front of us with another girl from out class. Then the delinquents showed up. Rodrick stopped dead in his tracks when he saw us.

" Emma, get up, we need to talk," Rodrick motioned for me to follow him, but I didn't do or say anything. I wasn't going to let him ruin my newfound happiness.

" Emma," he called my name again. I was about to say something, but Jasper beat me to it.

" She doesn't want to sit with you, ok? Leave her alone and get a life." Jasper was now officially not on good terms with Rodrick, but Rodrick shrugged it off and sat back down next to Ben. I wonder what's gotten into him?

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><p>Instead of meeting me at my locker, Rodrick met me at the door to the school building. He's lucky Luke got me Starbucks this morning, or I wouldn't have been in the mood to hear what he has to say.<p>

" I don't like Jasper," Rodrick spat out quickly. Luke waved goodbye not wanting to even know what was happening in my social life. I took the last sip of my latte then threw it away.

" Oh well. That's your problem," I replied smoothly.

" He's going to break your heart," Rodrick said from behind me as we walked to our class, " Don't trust him." Ignoring Rodrick, I walked into the classroom.

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><p><strong>Review to tell me what you think, and I will update very soon.<strong>


	24. Red Dawn

**This chapter is in Luke's point of view.**

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><p>Emma was pacing around the living room in her almost 6-inch heels, or wedges as she had scolded me on the difference. My mom sat on the couch next to me, reassuring her daughter that this Jasper kid would be here any moment. I don't know why she seemed so nervous, hasn't she been on a date before?<p>

" It's 8:35, and he's not here yet. Should I call him? What if he stands me up? Should I just cancel?" Emma pacing even faster asked herself.

" It's just five minutes, please. When I was dating Jessica, I was a half hour late for our 3rd date. Trust me, he will be here," I told her. Emma looked as if she was going to pass out, " It's not the end of the world if he shows up late." I got up and went to the kitchen to refill my cup with ice tea.

While pouring the delicious liquid in the cup, the doorbell rang. From the kitchen, I could see Cody run up and bark at whomever was behind the wooden door. The sound of Emma begging dad not to open the door could be heard throughout our home. Instead mom opened the door first. I could hear her cheery voice great this Jasper guy.

" Come in, come in. Emma, Jasper is here!" Mom called for Emma who was no more than 20 feet away. Instead of Emma coming to greet her date, Valeria came up.

" I'm ready to go on our date," Vale said shyly to Jasper. He laughs then bends down to her level. Jasper seems like an ok guy, but you never know. Eventually Emma came to the door, and almost all of my family was standing in the foyer except for Frankie and me. Jasper looked towards my direction and smiled. I smiled back, only to be polite.

" So Jasper, Emma said you just moved her from Wales?" Emma shot me a look, but I shrugged it off.

" No. My family moved from Manchester," he replied, not minding my 'mistake'."

" What type of job did your dad get that required him to move from Manchester to Ohio?"

" Oh, um, well-"

" Come on, I think we should be going now." Emma started to push him out the front door. It closed with a slam, and every one left the foyer except me.

" Interesting, " I said then took a swish of the cool ice tea, " Very interesting." I pulled out my cell phone and speed dialed Rodrick.

"Hey, they just went out. Yeah, I'm on my way now." I hung up then went back to the kitchen to put my cup in the sink then went into the living room.

" Dad, we're ready," I told him. He got up from the recliner and started to walk towards me. My mom turned around to look at me.

" And where are you two going?" She asked. " You aren't going to spy on Emma during her date, are you?"

" I'm sorry, but that information is classified," I told her then dad and I walked out the front door and towards his car. We got in, drove to Rodrick's house, picked him up, and drove to where Emma was having her date. They went into a restaurant called Queen's Island. Dad, Rodrick, and I got seats far away from theirs, but close enough to hear.

" You look lovely tonight," Jasper said as they waited on their waiter. Rodrick responded with a gaging noise. A few minutes later, Paisley walked in with her twin brother, Chase, behind her. Emma stood up and greeted her and Chase with a hug. All three sat down again. We ordered food the same time they did. All through dinner, Jasper was talking non-stop and Emma was laughing at almost everything he said. At one point during dinner, Rodrick almost got up and went over to them, but dad stopped him. When they got up to leave, so did we.

Instead of going back to his car or a different car, they walked down the street. We followed them from a few feet behind until they stopped at the movie theater. Jasper handed over some money, and the ticket booth person handed him four tickets. I couldn't tell which movie they were going to, because of how far back we were. After Emma, Jasper, Paisley, and Chase went in, we walked up to the black and red screen that listed all of the movies.

" Was Emma talking about any movies lately?" I asked dad. He shook his head, and I looked at Rodrick.

" In class, Paisley and her were talking about this guy named Chris being in this movie that was coming out. I forgot what his last name was." Chris? New movie? There were some movie posters to the left. I walked over them, and inspected each one for anyone named Chris.

" This movie has someone named Chris Hemsworth," dad said pointing to a poster that has the words 'Red Dawn' written in silver towards the bottom. I'm going to guess this is the movie they went to see. We, meaning my dad, bought tickets.

The four of them were seated somewhere in the middle of the seats. Quietly, we made our way towards the top, and sat a row behind them. None of them noticed our presence, due to how dark the theater was now. The only light was the one that shown from the screen.

" Do you want any thing to eat?" Jasper asked them. Emma looked at Paisley, Paisley looked at Chase, and Chase asked, " Popcorn?" Jasper nodded, and Chase got up to go to the concession stand. I followed him out the door to the lobby, leaving my dad and Rodrick in the theater with the remaining three.

" Hey Chase," I snuck up behind him. He turned around casually and looked at me.

" Wassup? What are you doing here?"

" Just catching a movie with my dad and a friend. What are you up to?"

" I'm seeing a movie with my sister, the new kid Jasper…and your sister. Are you spying on her?" The cashier handed over Chase two bags of popcorn.

" No. Of course not," Chase stepped out of line, " I'll take one large popcorn, three cokes, a bag of skittles, and how about some red vines?" I asked the cashier. I paid for the food, received it, and walked back with Chase.

" Just out of curiosity, what movie are you seeing?"

" Red Dawn." We both stepped back into the theater. It sounded like the movie had started already." The girls, nor Jasper, still didn't notice me, or Chase when he returned.

When the boy Robert, in Red Dawn, threw up while they were shooting, Emma and Paisley started to snicker. Paisley leaned over to Emma and whispered something, causing Emma to laugh even more. Rodrick took some skittles and threw them at her. She turned around in her seat, to face Rodrick what.

" What are _you_ doing here?" Emma whispered, yelled at him.

Rodrick leaned back in the theater chair with a smirk, " Oh, you know just catching a movie."

" Leave now," Rodrick shook his head in defiance. Emma sighed then looked at dad and me, " Dad? Luke? Why are you guys here?" She asked.

" Chris Hemsworth?" I suggested. She turned back around in her seat then snuggled up next to Jasper. He placed his arm around her at the same time. It was weird seeing to people snuggle during an action movie. After 20 more minutes, Rodrick started to kick Emma's seat whenever Jasper or her got too close to each other.

" Knock it off!" She yelled this time.

" Make me!" Emma almost climbed over the chairs to get to him. A few bystanders tried to shush my sister and Rodrick, but it didn't work. When they started to yell at each other some more, an usher came up and asked them to leave because they were causing a nuisance. Both Emma and Rodrick got up and left.

Jasper and I got up at the same time to see if they were okay. We stepped outside, and saw Emma sitting on a bench with Rodrick leaning against a tree a few feet away. Jasper sat next to her and started to coddle her. Emma was crying a bit, and Rodrick looked extremely unhappy.

" Dude, what happened? Did you make Emma cry?" I asked. He wouldn't look at me.

" Do you want me to take you home?" I heard Jasper ask. Emma got up, and they walked down the street together.

" She said I ruined her date and asked me why I had to fuck everything up for her. She's being a total bitch, it's just a movie," Rodrick said after they were a good distance away, " Sometimes I wish we could be…never mind. I have to head home." He walked off in the other direction. Did Rodrick like Emma? Even if it was a tiny bit, he still liked her.

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><p><strong> I know some people are getting back into school, so I wish you a happy school year! Please review or favorite. <strong>


	25. Three Cheers For Revenge

**It's short, but I just wanted to update. It will be a while until I update again.**

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><p>" Hey, Emma? Look at me, please?" I slowly turned to look at Jasper. We were sitting inside of his car on the curb near my house. We've been sitting here in silence, well except for the radio, for quite some time. After I looked at him, he kissed me. Headlights from a car in front of us pierced through the glass, disrupting our kiss. I didn't have to look who it was. As Jasper held my cheek in his hand, the sound of car doors opening and closing filled the night air. I glanced at Luke and dad, but looked back at Jasper when Luke waved to me. Once they were both in the house, I started to finally talk.<p>

" I'm so, so sorry about tonight. I just wish-"

" No, don't wish. Tonight was perfect, despite that little hiccup we had. I still, and will, always like you no matter what happens." I almost started to cry again, but I didn't let it happen.

" Thanks for tonight, Jasper. You're right; despite what happens, it was perfect." I kissed his cheek then got out of the car. When I got inside my house, Luke was sitting on the stairs. He stood up when he saw me.

" Let's just forget this happened. You are forgiven for almost ruining my date. But please never again do this," I told him as we walked up the stairs together.

" I won't. If it helps, Rodrick is pretty upset as well," Luke said almost laughing.

"I don't care." After my comment, Luke and I went to our separate bedrooms.

* * *

><p>" So he actually died in the movie. I was so upset," Paisley was explaining what happened in the movie after I left.<p>

" She actually screamed when he was shot," Chase added. Paisley pushed him away.

" Get lost Chase," she told her twin. Chase pushed Paisley into me then walked towards his class. Paisley waited until I was done gathering books from my locker, " So what did happen when you left? Jasper got up like after a few minutes to go see you."

" I don't want to talk about it."

" Are you and Jasper a thing?" Paisley asked as we entered the classroom. Jasper was seated in the far corner of the room, hunched over the desk. He looked up and waved to us.

" I guess."

" If you don't want him then I will take him." Paisley nudged me. She's so weird.

" Emma, I drew this for you. I know our date didn't go so well last night, so maybe this might make you happy," Jasper beamed as he handed the small piece of paper over to me. It was a picture of a beach. It looked like a nice day.

" Thanks, Jasper. It's really pretty," I gave Jasper a hug, and Paisley started to point out some stuff in the picture. Someone shoved past me roughly causing me to drop everything I held in my hands.

" Watch where you're going," Paisley said to Rodrick. He turned around and glared at her.

" Watch where you're standing. What's this?" He snatched the piece of paper out of her hands. After collecting my books from the floor, I stood up and placed them on the desk.

" Give it back," I tried reaching for it, but Rodrick held it above my head. Not this game again. I wasn't going to jump for it like he wanted me to do. Right before our eyes, Rodrick ripped up the paper into smaller pieces then handed it back to Jasper.

" It was trash any way," he said walking away. Rodrick was so going to pay for this. And I just know the perfect way to go about this. Shall I say three cheers for revenge?

* * *

><p>With Paisley at my side, we waited for the middle school bell to ring, singling that the students held within its walls were free to go home. I looked into the crowd to find where Greg was. He was taking some time coming out, but that was okay. When I saw him walk down the steps, I went up to him and pulled him to the side.<p>

" Emma? What are you doing here?" Greg asked me. His friend, Rowley, came over to us with a cheery smile.

" Hey guys!"

" Nobody wants you here," Paisley told him.

" Leave now or else," I added. His smile disappeared into a face of concern and disbelief.

" Why do all high school kids have to be so mean?" Rowley shook his head as he walked away from us.

" Hey, why did you do that? Why are you even here?" Just as Greg asked, Frankie walked up to us. Paisley looked like she was about to tell him to get lost like Rowley, but didn't when I gave him a hug.

" I need to ask you for a favor. I need you to tell your mom about that party Rodrick held."

" No way am I going to tell her. Do you know how much trouble we will get into?" Greg took a few steps back.

" You threw a party?" Frankie smiled deviously. I shushed him.

" You and I won't get in trouble," Paisley pulled out a notebook from her backpack then flipped to the page where we planned this out, " If you will please pay attention to the paper before your eyes, you will see that I have devised a plan in which neither you nor I will be punished for participating." Greg looked at me sorrowfully.

" Emma, I'm sorry, but I just can't. If Rodrick found out that I told my mom, he would kill me. He's lightened up on me a lot already for lying about the door, and I just don't want to ruin that. Sorry," Greg walked away from us to catch up with Rowley. Maybe that's why Rodrick's been hard on me for a few days. He can't take his pent up anger out on his brother because they have each other's backs.

I twirled the pen I held between my fingers as I thought how to go about revenge with Rodrick while finishing up some social studies homework. I could set him on fire, maybe? No, too morbid. Why is it that he can do whatever he wants to me, and it goes without punishment, but when I do something to him, it seems to backfire? Life is definitely not fair.

* * *

><p>Both mom and dad came through the study door. Mom closed it gently behind her. They looked as if I were in trouble. I tried to recall if I had done anything bad in the past few days. Nothing came up except for when I broke a glass cup in the kitchen.<p>

" Emma, did you, Greg, and Rodrick throw a party while his parent's were out of town?" dad asked me. Oh shit.

" Well, kind of. It was Rodrick's party, and he…he um, well, he had like a party while I was there. Greg was there also, but it wasn't his fault," I tried to explain the best I could, but I was too nervous.

" As a punishment, you are going to help out at the talent show, and you are not going to get out of it. Your father and I are really disappointed in you right now," mom said. They left me alone in the room. When your parents say that they are disappointed in you rather than upset, you know you screwed up BIG time.

Rodrick glared at me the entire next day. By going back to the middle school, I learned that he was banned from participating at the concert. It wasn't like this was my fault. Both Greg and I were punished also for his actions.

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><p><strong>Once again, it will be a few weeks before I update again. So please leave a friendly review to tell me what you think, and I will see you again soon! Happy school days! Also shoutout to anyone who is going to high school for the first time. Any advice for a freshman?<strong>


	26. Misery Business

**THE MESSAGE BELOW IS FOR THE LAST PERSON WHO COMMENTED IN THE REVIEWS. A.K.A. GUEST:**

**I really wanted to PM whomever the person Guest is about this. I didn't really want to address it on this story, but seeing as you are a Guest, I have no other choice. I don't really remember why I stopped, but I'm going to guess because of the time of moth it was summer. I got distracted by what I was doing and became lazy. But have no fear, that story is not dead! I will continue it and my other story! I should have an ATLA month where I focus on that story. It's hard to find time to write and do schoolwork. I actually was about to write a chapter, but then Netflix deleted ATLA from it's instant streaming so I was discouraged. I have Book 1 and 2 on CD, but I have just moved so I have no idea where that stuff is. But I promise I will get to it. **

**EVERYONE ELSE MAy READ THE STORY:**

" He's pretty pissed off about the whole thing. You know, he's not the only one who is facing punishment. I'm suffering too, and his little brother," I was talking to Jasper at one of the lunch tables outside the school building.

" Wow, you're one party animal, Emma. Just kidding, but he's just going to have to deal with it." Paisley, who was wearing her cheerleading uniform, came up to us with an ear-to-ear smile on her face.

" And what are you happy about?" Jasper asked her. She giggled like an idiot. It was obvious that she was still into him, but I don't mind sharing, I guess.

" Oh, it's nothing important," she giggled. Paisley just went from super chill to creepy in the span of 20 minutes. I had no choice but to spent a good majority of my time with her, because Amber was out with the flu.

" Emma, I was wondering if I could help out at the talent show with you?"

" Yeah, sure, have your mom call my mom. Why do you want to help out?"

" Service hours. I need them." The first bell rang, and so we headed back to our classes. So far, the worst Rodrick has done to get back at me is glaring from a distance and throwing paper at me. Instead of backing me up, Paisley just laughs it off. In the hallway after school, I saw them talking to each other. I need talk to Chase about this.

" Do you know anything about your sister and Rodrick. They've been talking a lot lately," I asked him.

" Nope. I know nothing about the information you wish to obtain."

So Chase was a complete dead end. I thought about what could be going on, as I lay on my bed. Maybe Paisley is telling him about my birthday party that I'm planning. I hope she's not backstabbing me by inviting him. If she is, I am so unfollowing her on Instagram and twitter, and befriending her ass on Facebook. My phone started to vibrate. When the screen lit up, it showed a number I didn't know. I answered anyway.

" Hello? Who is this?"

" _I need you to come down here right now. It's an emergency,"_ Rodrick's voice said through the speaker. I thought his phone was taken away?

" Rodrick, I think you have you wrong number. This is Emma."

" _I know who I'm talking to. Now come to this address: 1498 Oakland Drive."_

" You have to be completely insane if you think that I'm going come and meet you at some address."

" _Emma, please. It's the least you can do for me since you practically RUINED MY LIFE!" _He didn't have to shout. When I didn't answer, he started talking again.

" _Are you grounded?"_

" No."

" _THEN GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE KNOW OR ELSE!" _ I could go, but then again I don't have to. But then again I'm curious about why he wants me there. It's 8 at night. Bitch shouldn't be even calling me for homework. I sighed then got up from my bed. Rodrick was so lucky I was done with homework. I grabbed a red jacket, slipped on some ankle length Ugg boots, grabbed my phone, checked my self one last time in the mirror, and then headed down stairs.

I was going to head out when my brother stopped me, " And where do you think you're going? Heading out to another party, hmm?"

" None of your business, but do you have a baseball bat I could borrow? I won't be long," Luke smiled then went to go his bat.

" Call me if you need me," he said as I left the house. I walked down the street, and then realized that I had no idea where 1498 Oakland Street was. I plugged in the coordinates into the map application on my phone. I was walking around for a good hour and thirty minutes before getting on the right street.

" 1486, 1490, 1497, and 1498 Oakland Bay Drive. Where are you?" I was at the right house, or so I thought. The lights were off, and it looked like no one was home. This probably one of Rodrick's stupid jokes! I really need to stop trusting him.

" There you are," a voice said from behind. I help the baseball bat firmly in my hands, waiting to swing at anyone, " Whoa, it's just me." Rodrick appeared under the streetlight. I lowered the bat then walked up to him. He smiled at me.

" Nice outfit. I'm surprised you weren't raped on your way over here."

" You and I both know that isn't funny. Are you going to waste my time, or is there something really important you want me to do." Rodrick pushed me along the sidewalk towards the home. He opened the door and escorted me inside. It looked like a little nice family home. We walked down the stairs until we were at the basement. There were three people in the basement with us. Two were Chris and Ben from Rodrick's band and the other was some older guy.

" It's cool you brought a chick here, but I thought you were going to bring someone who could help us," the older man asked. Did he live here? Was he part of this 'band'?

" She is going to help us. I hate to admit it, but she's really talented. I thought she could play the drums for me," Rodrick said as he shuffled me over where a drum kit was. I sat down and held the drumsticks in my hand loosely. Everyone was staring at me.

" I don't know how to play the drums," I stated blandly. A frown was present on everyone's face, while Rodrick had a pleading look on his. I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. Like he said, it's the least I could do. I hit the drums in an awkward fashion. This definitely is nothing like Guitar Hero. It was a bad idea from the start.

" She sucks," the older guy commented. They looked so easy when I see people in bands playing them, so why can't I get it?

" I can't believe we won't be able to preform. This is shit," Chris mumbled.'

" No, we are still going to preform. I know a guy who can play the drums," the older man said. Rodrick's face looked confused.

" Wait, no, we aren't preforming at all. I'm part of the band to," Rodrick interjected.

" Right, sorry. We won't preform then." I didn't trust this older guy. He changed his mind pretty fast.

" I'm going to go home now." I got up from my seat and made a b-line for the stairs. Rodrick caught me by the arm.

" I'll walk you home, come on," he said leading me up the stairs. When Rodrick says "I'll walk you home" he really means I'll walk you to the end of the street. Asshole…

* * *

><p>Standing impatiently and yawning every other minute, I listened to our supervisor go over some of the things we needed to know for today. Oh, how I wish I was in my bed sleeping instead of being here today. Why did this have to be my punishment? Of everything my parents could have dished out, why did it have to be waking up early to set up for something that won't start for another 11 hours? I probably would have had a better attitude, if I were getting paid for my labor. Unfortunately, this is stupid volunteer work. I guess it's better than participating in the talent show itself. Yes, my mother gave me the option to participate and I turned it down. Only because I had no unique talents except play the piano and using the computer.<p>

" And if you have any questions, please do NOT ask me. Ask Jerry over there." Jerry, the guy with the answers to any questions, raised his arm in the air for us to identify him. We lined up so Jerry could give us our assigned jobs. I was one of the last ones to receive their orders.

" Name?" Jerry asked me.

" Emma Night. My mom signed me up, and I'm a sophomore at Westmoore High."

" Well, Emma, you are going to be in charge of making sure that the next act is ready to go in stage next. Follow the list, carefully, because the person controlling the music has to follow the list also. Here is your clipboard, pen, and walkie-talkie. If one act isn't ready or not present by halfway through the act before it, radio me and sound booth so we can make the necessary changes." Jerry handed me a clipboard, pen, and walkie-talkie.

" Thanks," I told him.

" Make sure you check off every performance. Oh, and one more thing, don't screw your up job up," Jerry left me with a heart warming message. Such helpful and wise words he spoke. Really touched my heart. I let out another yawn as Paisley came up to me.

" Jesus Emma, you sound really tired and you look like a mess!" Paisley poked my face.

" I was up late last night playing video games till about three o'clock. I didn't know my mom was going to wake me up so early just to get here. This is absolute hell. Jerry is bombarding everyone with stupid orders."

" Yeah, I can here him all the way from the dressing room. He probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. At least you don't have to do any major work until tonight." I guess I was lucky. Maybe I could find a quiet place to catch up on the sleep I missed.

" What are you doing?"

" I'm an usher. I'm not working until later also. The best thing is that I get to wear this blazer. I really like it." Paisley brushed off some dust from the jacket.

" I actually like this uniform. The yellow shirts go well with the black pants. It's funny because we were told to wear either dark dress pants or black skirts with black shoes. I didn't get the memo so I put of these dark blue skinny jeans and red vans with a checkered belt."

" Wow Emma, you're such a rebel," Paisley joked. We talked for some more until I saw my mom with Valeria trailing behind her. Paisley smiled big and greeted her with a hug. She's such a kiss up to my parents.

" Hi Paisley, how are you? Emma said something about you volunteering also."

" I'm doing okay. I need the service hours for school, and I also wanted to hang with Emma. What's up Vale?" Paisley high fived my little sister's hand. Valeria came over to me and I picked her up.

" I don't mean to sound curt, but what are you doing here?"

" Valeria wanted to see you, I needed to talk to my boss, he's helping out as well, and I thought you could use some coffee, since you were tired this morning." I traded Valeria for the latte my mom held in her hand.

" Thanks mom," I smiled.

" You're welcome. Do you want me to pick you up after the show?"

" No, I'm going to walk home."

" Alright." Mom walked away from us with Valeria. As we walked around backstage, Paisley kept begging me for a sip of the hot liquid. We eventually found some of the other kids who go to our school. After talking for sometime, one of the girls, Karen, suggested that we hide and seek backstage. No one seemed to have a problem with it but Jerry. During the middle of our 3rd game, he started yelling at us and gave us more work to do.

Luckily, Paisley, men and five others weren't caught in the line of fire, and snuck out of the auditorium for the girls' bathroom. One of the boys had a pack of cards in his pocket, so we started to play poker minus the gambling parts. When people started to get bored with cards, we messed around with the two walkie-talkies another girl and I had.

Everyone at the other end took the jokes really well, until Jerry heard our conversations. We were told to stop fooling around and get back to work. Did we ever go back to work? Nope. We stayed around the bathroom and goofed off some more. One of the older staff ladies walked into the bathroom and told all of us to get out.

People were starting to show up around 6:30. I walked around the front entrance, looking for anyone I knew. Jasper texted me and I met him inside the building. We hugged then sat down to talk.

" How long have you been here?" he asked me.

" About 10 hours. We barely did anything." Jasper and I laughed. I told him about my crazy manager, Jerry, who is just an uptight bastard who needs to have fun. I spotted the Heffley family walk in. Greg and Rodrick looked like they didn't want to be here. Someone called for me on the radio, so I had to leave Jasper.

" I'll see you Monday, okay?"

" Alright, see you." I started to push past people to get backstage. Why are people so slow? Just move already. By the time I got backstage, it was almost time for the first act to go on. Jerry was yelling at me the whole time I was talking to the act.

The lights in the auditorium dimmed as the announcer came out to greet everyone. I hung tight backstage next to the first act. They were shaking with nervousness. It was a young girl who was performing some tricks with her little dog.

" Hey, don't worry. Everything will be okay," I told her. She looked up at me with glistening eyes.

" Tori Fitch and her dog Peanut butter!" the announcer announced.

" Thanks," she whispered then went out onto the stage. By the time I got the next act set up and ready to go, she was closing up her act. The dog went through the moving hoop with no problems. Tori picked up her dog and bowed. Applause filled the auditorium as she left. A smile was spread across her face when she came back. The next act was a dance team that called themselves " Sugar Dolls". I really don't want to talk about what they were wearing.

After some more acts, I noticed Rodrick talking to the older creepy guy in his band I had met a couple of nights ago. When Rodrick turned around, he looked like he was about to cry or something. The guilty person in me wouldn't let my feet walk away from this. I sighed then approached him slowly.

" Hey, Rodrick? Are you okay?" He didn't answer straight away, but as I was walking away, he took me by the arm and pulled me aside.

" No. I'm not okay. Bill took over my band and is going to go on stage without me. Worst part is that Ben won't do a fucking thing to stop him. It's not fair, and your shirt is stupid. This is your entire fault! "

" No, it's not. You were the one who threw the party that night. Look, I'm trying to be here for you right now, but if insulting and blaming me help you cope with what's going on then fine. But just know this Rodrick Heffley; I am sick and tired of you picking on me. Even when you are nice to me, you are mean to me. I swear you make me want to…ugh! You make me want to do something other than be around you!"

I was becoming too upset to say anything else to him. Rodrick is literally ripping me apart piece by piece. Of everyone in this world, why was I stuck with him for high school? I wish he would invest his time in someone other than me. Maybe is he had a girlfriend things would be better.

Seeing Greg come up to me in a skin tight latex suit with a cape and Rowley wearing a tuxedo, top hate, and fake mustache disturbed everything I had been thinking about. Were they the next act? I looked down at my clipboard and saw Rowley's name next to someone named Scotty.

" Are you guys the next act?" I asked them with a little too much anger in my voice from my previous conversation with Rodrick. They winced a bit and I apologized.

" Yeah, we are going to preform some magic tricks," Rowley told me. Greg looked embarrassed and like he didn't want to be going onto the stage. The announcer introduced them and they walked past me out onto the stage. I watched them from behind the curtain. I hope all goes well.

When I heard people laugh after what the two middles schoolers were saying, I knew that they were doing okay for a crack act. The box that Greg was laying in broke down and he concluded their performance. I high fived both of them when they came back. Greg went to go talk to some blond girl.

" Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I heard Rodrick's voice scream from the side. He pulled his mom into a hug. She then handed over what looked like eyeliner to him. Rodrick looked over to me and smiled. Even though I was still a bit pissed, I smiled back anyway.

If I could describe this performance in one word, that word would probably be questionable. They weren't getting the kind of attention they were hoping for. No one was cheering or jumping up and down during the song like some people do at concerts. The only person who seemed to be enjoying the music besides the members of the band was Mrs. Heffley. On the other side of the stage, I could see Rodrick's mom "rocking out" to the song.

I'm guess that other people saw her also, because they started cheering. The whole auditorium was actually now laughing, cheering, talking, point, etc. during their performance. Rodrick and his band mates probably didn't know that the attention was directed towards Mrs. Heffley. Their song ended, and they high fived each other as they walked backstage.

Rodrick looked towards me and smiled. He's never smiled that way before at me. Wait, something isn't right. I turned around just in time to catch Paisley running up behind me. Rodrick seemed to meet her halfway and they…hugged. Paisley and Rodrick were hugging? What the fuck? Rodrick then moved his face close to hers and they kissed. It wasn't like a peck, but they actually kissed each other! Has the world gone mad?

I stood there bewildered, watching them. Ben and Chris patted Rodrick on the back, singling that they were leaving, while he was still kissing Paisley. I felt awkward just standing here. I wanted to talk to Paisley about it, but I didn't want to get between them.

" Paisley," I said barley above a whispered. I have immense belief that she didn't hear me call her. They stopped kissing and I looked down at my clipboard pretending to do important work. It wasn't any of my business anyway. Even if she did tell me what the hell is going on, it would only make me miserable.

" Emma, there something I've been wanting to tell you. But I guess the secret is out now," Paisley said. I looked up from the clipboard like I just didn't see them kiss.

" Hmm, what did you say? Sorry I was, um, checking for the next act," I lied. Loded Diper was the final act of tonight.

" Rodrick and I, we are…well you see, we-"

" We're dating," Rodrick broke it to me. I almost broke the pen in my hand.

" Well, isn't that just perfect? Maybe you guys want to do a double date with Jasper and I one of these days." Rodrick's smirk changed into a frown. I think he was expecting more of a freak out from me.

" Yeah, that would be so cool! Right, Rodrick?" He nodded his head slowly. Paisley looked down at her watch.

" Oh gosh, I have to meet my mom outside in the parking lot. Hey, my parents and brother aren't going to be home tomorrow. Maybe you want to come over and we could…" I walked away, quickly. I really didn't want to know what she had in store for him. Something wasn't right, weeks ago Paisley wanted to kick his ass. Now they are boyfriend and girlfriend?

I turned in my clipboard and walkie-talkie to Jerry. I signed out, and maneuvered my way outside. Luckily, I was able to beat the crowd of people heading home.

" When I said I wanted to have a girlfriend, I meant someone I don't know or barely talk to," I told the sky. I walked along the path until a familiar face ran up behind me. I took one look and kept walking. Rodrick followed beside me quietly.

" What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

" Why are you following me? Wasn't your family there?" I kicked a rock.

" Yeah, but my mom saw you walking alone and she told me to walk you home, so here I am," he laughed and so did I. It sounded like something Mrs. Heffley would make her boys do. I'm surprised she didn't have Rodrick drag me back there so she could drive me home.

We walked alone in the dark, before coming to a park within our neighborhood. My house was only a few blocks away, and so was his. Rodrick didn't seem to care about how late it was. We sat on the swings next to each other, quietly, until I brought up a fond memory.

" Remember when we were little kids, and our moms use to bring us here to play? You would push me on the swings and we would play tag around the playground," I laughed. Those were some good times.

" No, not at all," he replied. My smile flipped into a frown. That wasn't really the response I was hoping for, but it was good enough.

" Do you remember when we were friends?"

" No," I looked at him concerning.

" Do you remember when we were in the fourth grade, and on that one field trip to that farm you pushed me into a puddle of mud?"

" Yeah, that was hysterical," Rodrick, laughed. At least he remembered something. I got up from the swing set and started to head home. I don't even know why I bothered to bring that up.

" Hey, Emma, I'm sorry. I do remember when we were friends. It's just things have changed and people change overtime." That was a complete lie.

" Whatever, I know I haven't changed," I turned around looking at him. He got up from the swings and ran up to meet me.

" Really? Because you have changed. You're more on an uptight bitch than when I first met you," I slapped him. The sound of my hand hitting his skin created an echo in the night's still air. He sighed for a log time.

" That was supposed to be funny."

" Do you see me laughing?" I started to follow the road home, and Rodrick continued to pursue me. I felt a drop of water hit my skin. I looked toward the sky. Even though it was dark, I could make out some of the clouds. Rain started to come down more until millions of drops were raining down all at once.

" Let me walk the rest of the way with you home," he suggested. I couldn't say no because he would follow me anyway. The rain came down harder and the wind blew fierce. This was weird weather for winter. Rodrick grabbed my arm, to single me to stop walking. He took off the jacket he wore and held it out for me.

" No thanks, I'm fine." I continued walking, but Rodrick suddenly spun me around to face him. I was forced to put his jacket on. It smelled like cologne and was still warm from his body heat.

" Feel better?" Rodrick cooed. I nodded my head. We started walking again towards my house, and at this point, Rodrick was dripping from head to toe and the water had soaked through the jacket. We ran the rest of the way home. The car my parents usually use to drive everyone in wasn't here. The front door was locked as well.

" We can go through the back door," I said then led him through our backyard. Cody must have been inside already. The back door was locked also.

" Maybe the dobby door?" suggested Rodrick. I shook my head.

" You're too big."

" I was talking about you."

" Well, I'm too fat."

" You're not fat!" I sighed in defeat then got down on my hands and knees. I put my arms through first then head. Cody came running up to me and started to bark. I moved the hair out of my face.

" It's me!" Cody whined then trotted over to me. He licked my faced as I tried to wiggle through the door, but I couldn't move any further past my hips. I pulled and pulled, but I was completely stuck. Suddenly, I felt two hands push up against my butt.

" Hey, watch it!" I snapped at him.

" I'm trying to push you through. Can you unlock the door from where you are?" At the sound of Rodrick's voice, Cody started to bark. He put his paws on my back to try and look out the window.

" Down boy, no," I scolded him. He got off then trotted away. I tried to reach for the lock, but it was too far up.

" I can't reach it," I cried.

" I'll just keep pushing." Rodrick's hands once again pushed up against my butt, but I still wasn't moving.

" It's not working, just go get help," I told him.

" The problem is your belt. You need to take it off." I felt my face grow warm. My belt was on the outside of the door. He was going to have to take it off for me.

" Alright, but you are going to have to do it." There wasn't any response. I felt his hands fiddling with my belt. A few times he touched my stomach and I jerked away, but he was able to get it off. I tried to wiggle through again, but it still wasn't working. This was so embarrassing.

" Can I take your pants off?" he asked. I was able to kick him with my foot.

" You are dating my best friend and your are asking if you could take my pants off? Who do you think you are?!"

" Rodrick fucking Heffley." Oh God, I'm never going to get out of this door. I pulled more and more until my sides started to hurt. I heard a noise from somewhere in the house, and then Cody started barking rapidly. I was confused until I saw Rodrick.

" How did you get in here?"

" The window was slightly open, so I just opened it and climbed in. Need help?" I nodded. Rodrick bent down in front of me and started to pull. My hips weren't going to go through this door no matter what we did.

" Try going backwards and I will unlock the door for you." That actually sounded like a good idea. I tried to wiggle my way backwards, and it worked! It actually worked! I reached for the doorknob, but the door was still locked. I knocked on the door and saw Rodrick shake his head. He looked like was laughing.

That bitch locked me out of my own house! I jiggled the door handle vigorously, but it didn't work. I don't care if I have to break this door down; I'm getting into my house. Rodrick walked away from the window, and I went to the screen door. There wasn't any sign of him on the first floor. The wind and rain became too cold for me to bear. I would do anything to get inside, at this point. I banged at the glass door. Eventually Rodrick showed his face downstairs. He opened the door to let me inside.

" Wow, it must be cold out-"

" Get out now!" I screamed at him. This time I meant it. I don't care if you are dating my friend or not, lock me out of my house when ice rain is falling from the sky and I will send your ass to hell. Rodrick picked up the signals of death really fast and hauled ass out of the house. I sighed then went up stairs for a warm shower.

Before I went to bed, I checked my phone, which I had left at home, for any messages. 5 missed calls from dad, 2 from mom, and a text from Luke. Turns out they went out to eat dinner, and when it started to rain they were on their way to pick me up from the talent show, but the car ran out of gas before they even made it half way.

I curled up in a little ball and pulled my blanket almost all the way to my face. The whole night I was sneezing and coughing my brains out. I hope I wasn't sick.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading, and please leave a review telling me how much you like this story. Haha, see you soon.<strong>


	27. Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm sorry it's short. Maybe next chapter will be longer.**

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><p>Pick up, dammit. I slammed my phone down on the comforter, and then grabbed a tissue to blow my nose. My little rain session from two nights ago had left me with a slight cold, but my dad said I was still well enough to go to school. School had turned from hell to being stuck at the Small Fucking World ride for a month. Paisley did a complete 360 on me, and started hanging out with Rodrick and his band members. I couldn't even get close to her without someone telling me to go away. And what did she do? Abso-fucking-lutely nothing!<p>

That just pissed me off more. I tried calling her last night, but she didn't answer her phone and now it just goes straight to voice mail. All I want to do is talk to her about this. How the hell did she become Rodrick's girlfriend, and why was I in the dark about this? Even Amber, who was fucking sick for an entire week, knew about their relationship. Amber didn't even tell me!

I opened up my laptop and tried to Skype her. It rang and rang, until she finally picked up. Paisley's flushed face appeared across of my screen. I glared at her through the camera.

" What the actual fuck Paisley Athena Parker," I told her through gritted teeth. She glared right back at me.

" This is exactly why I didn't tell you, because I knew you would react this way. Give Rodrick some slack; you really don't know him like you think you do. He's a good guy." Paisley's words hit me like a train. I was stunned. Paisley, the girl who called this guy so many names behind his back, is now calling Rodrick a 'good guy'? Am I in wonderland or what?

" Can you seriously just tell me how this all happened?" She looked around her room before answering.

" It happened in stages. After the movies, we talked a bit. He kept calling you a bitch, so I told him it's only because he's a total dick to you. We talked some more after that, but that's it. And then things just sort of happened."

I didn't respond. This is what I hated about Skype. People can see what you look like when you're not answering. I played with a string that was hanging from the sweater.

" Don't be jealous Emma. You had your chance with me," Rodrick's voice said from off camera. He came into frame, and I could see my eyes get wide in the little frame to the bottom. What was he doing there? Rodrick was shirtless with just boxers on, and I finally noticed how little clothes Paisley had on. I gripped the blanket below me and looked away.

" Emma?" Paisley voice was flooded with concern," I thought you were okay with this?" Yeah, I was okay with them kissing and hugging, but…I don't even know anymore. I looked up at her. Both of their eyes were staring at me. Rodrick's arms wrapped around Paisley and he kissed her with a smile on this face. I slammed my laptop shut then grabbed the nearest pillow and screamed into it. My screaming turned into crying.

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><p>" Hi," Paisley had caught me outside of school on Thursday. The cold December breeze made me zip up my jacket as I turned around to face her. I had been avoiding her for about a week now. It wasn't a surprise to see Rodrick standing by her side, holding hands with her. It still hurt a bit though.<p>

" Do _you _need something?" I asked. Letting go of Rodrick's hand, she took a few steps towards me then stopped. Both of our blue eyes locked. In the blink of an eye, Paisley ran up and put her arms around me. She started to cry.

" I'm sorry if I made you upset. I didn't mean to. Please forgive me," she said in between breaths. I couldn't help but cry as well. My Paisley, my strong, sweet, loving, Paisley was crying. Paisley never cries.

" I'm sorry that I got upset. I should have been more supportive." To take the sadness away from the moment, Chase came up and wrapped his arms around us.

" Can we all be friends now or what?" We laughed then hugged him.

" Why don't we go get some hot chocolate from the café in town?" Jasper suggested. Everyone, including Rodrick, agreed. Chase went with Rodrick and Paisley, while Jasper drove me. We got there at exactly the same time, sat down at a table, and ordered drinks.

" What are you doing for Christmas?" I asked Paisley and Chase. Paisley stuck out her tongue.

" We have to go to New York to see our grandparents. Are you staying here or going to California?"

" I'm staying."

" So am I," Rodrick looked at me. I move closer to Jasper. He wrapped his arm around me. Rodrick did the same with Paisley.

" I think my family is going back to the UK," Jasper added. For the next hour or so we sat stayed at the café drinking hot chocolate and doing homework. It felt nice to hang out with paisley again. Chase and Paisley's mom came to pick them up so they wouldn't have to walk or get a ride from Rodrick. I learned that Paisley's parents had not approved of her dating Rodrick. I hugged her goodbye, and then there was just Jasper, Rodrick, and I.

This situation was extremely awkward. I was hoping to be alone with Jasper, but Rodrick wasn't going to leave until we did. He was and will always be a prick no matter whom he dates. Jasper tried to make small talk with him.

" So, Rodrick, I heard you're in a band," he started. His sentence floated in the air for a couple of minutes before Rodrick replied.

" Yeah, I am," Jesus, he was so snarky. I wanted to kick him from under the table, but things just got better with Paisley. Rodrick glared at Jasper as he took out his wallet, and then set the money for the bill on the table.

" I'm going to be in the car," Jasper left me alone with Rodrick. Once he left completely, Rodrick tried to take the money that he had left on the table.

" What are you doing? Put that back; it's not yours." I slapped his hand away. He mumbled 'bitch' under his breath. I'm tired of hearing that word. Can't we find a new one? When I got up from the table, so did Rodrick.

" I guess it will just be you and me for Christmas? I missed you last year my little reindeer," Rodrick wrapped his arms around me. For once I was just going to let him continue.

" What? No answer? Not even a little 'don't touch me you prick'? You're loosing it Emma. Don't worry, I have special present for you," Rodrick whispered. I stepped on his foot causing him to let go of me.

" And that was my little present to You from Me. It also comes with a little note. Jingle bells, jingle bells, don't fucking touch me!" I ran to Jasper's car then got in.

" Everything okay?" I nodded my head.

" Yeah, let's just go."

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><p><strong>Please leave a review. If there is a mistake, please tell me. Thank you<strong>


	28. Christmas Time

" See you guys next year," Santana laughed as he walked over to his dad's car. He couldn't hang out with Amber and I after school because of the flight his family had to catch to Canada. Amber and I waved goodbye as he left. She was going to stay the night with me, and then leave in the morning for the train. It seemed that everyone was leaving town, but me.

" Have fun with your cousins! Tell Gala hi for me." I wrapped my arms around Paisley and we hugged for a few seconds. She too had to go home and pack for her flight. Her and Rodrick kissed for like the millionth time, before she and Chase left.

Amber and I dashed off down the street before he could even think of starting a conversation with us. We were slipping and sliding along the icy sidewalk around the school area. With no one to worry about, we didn't feel the need to go home just yet. We wanted our first hour of winter vacation to be filled with no stress. Playfully, Amber tackled me into the snow. I gathered whatever snow I could find and flung it at her. We chased each other around for sometime before the busty brunette collapsed in a heap of exhaustion.

" Giving up so soon?" I teased. She blew air from her mouth, trying to get the few strands of hair out of her face.

" Every good soldier needs to rest once in a while. I know it's off subject, but where was Jasper today?"

" Oh, he left last night. Before going to the airport, he asked his parents if they could make a short stop to my house to say goodbye. It was so sweet." I would have blushed at my own comment if Amber weren't making disgruntled noised as she rolled in the snow.

" Must be nice to have a boyfriend. I think I need to get one of those. You know, make someone my bitch and all." A snowball hit me in the back of the head. Amber lifted her head and I turned around to see who it might be. Sean came trotting up to us with an ear-to-ear smile on his face. He was such a dork.

" I think I'll just make Sean my bitch," Amber whispered to me. I hit her lightly on the shoulder.

" OMG, no. Don't even try."

" What are you two doing out on the street corner? Shouldn't you be roasting chestnuts by the fire?" Sean came and sat down next to us. He was also leaving town, but not for a few days. We talked and talked before Luke came and picked us up from the street corner. Amber and I waved goodbye to Sean before climbing into the already warm car.

" You just got over a cold. Why are you playing in the snow?" Luke asked without even saying hello.

" Thanks mom, but I think I'm going to be okay. Can you not see this jacket that is zipped up over my body?"

" Remember to buckle up. The roads are icy today, and I would hate for you to go flying through the window." I clipped my seatbelt in so we could hurry up and get home faster.

Once in the house, Amber and I kicked off our boots, took off our jackets, and headed into the kitchen for something warm to drink. Valeria, Frankie, and Greg were sitting at the bar counter drinking from the white mugs. I Valeria then poured Amber, Luke, and I a glass of hot chocolate.

" Where is Rowley?" I asked Greg.

" He had to go home and get ready for his flight." People should really pack the day or night before the flight. Amber and I left the kitchen for the living room, with Valeria trailing behind us. In the corner was our family's Christmas tree with some presents underneath already. More would be coming with my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, and grandfathers. Our house can only hold so many people; at least some were staying at a hotel around the area.

" Greg and I have the TV until Greg leaves," Francisco shouted from the kitchen.

" Who told you that lie?" I shouted back.

" Mom." I rolled my eyes. This kid was catching on too quickly as to how things go in this household. Amber and I got up from the couch and went upstairs to my room to find something to do. With they boys commanding the TV down stairs, Amber, Vale, and I were upstairs giving each other makeovers. Valeria was too young to wear a lot of our makeup, so we just put blush, eye shadow, and lipstick on her. I also painted her nails. We then dressed up and had a 'fashion show' for fun.

Valeria looked hilarious in my clothes. They were a bit big for her. She is going to have to wait till middle school to possibly fit into them. We were downstairs having the boys judge us when the doorbell rang. Luke was too much of a fat ass to go and answer it, so I had to do it. On the other side of the door stood Mrs. Heffley and Rodrick. I invited them the door.

" Sorry to bother you so late at night. We just came to pick Greg up," Mrs. Heffley spoke gently to me.

" It's no trouble at all. We were all actually having a lot of fun. Greg, your mom is here to pick you up!" It took Greg forever to get to the front door. I closed it softly behind me. I probably looked like an escaped clown from the circus. That's what I get for letting a six year old do my makeup.

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><p>My Christmas vacation would officially end when all of my family arrives. Which is in 4 days. My aunt Hannah, uncle Joey, and cousins Micah and Gala came early since they lived the closest to us. I was happy they could make it here for Christmas. We were all sitting in the living room when our parents came in.<p>

"Luke, why don't you take the kids to the mall so you guys can do some Christmas shopping?" My aunt suggested. Behind her stood my mom ready to back her up in case Luke said no. Luke, Gala, and I knew they just wanted us out of the house so they can do 'adult stuff'. My mom handed Luke the keys to her car so that everyone could fit.

I grabbed my sweater and slipped my shoes on before heading out into the 50º weather. Gala and I sat in the way back, while Frankie, Valeria, and Micah sat in the middle. Luke had no passenger while driving. He was able to find a radio station that was playing Christmas music. The children sang along while Gala talked about school.

" Do you know if anyone from your school is throwing a Christmas party or something? Maybe New Years?" I laughed at her

" I don't know, and if I did I wouldn't tell you. We should spend time with our families." Gala made a face. She didn't like my dad's family even though she liked my dad. They were superficial people with too much money on their hands. All of their kids go to private school, live in nice big houses, and are just perfect angles. My grandfather on my dad's side owns two companies and my grandmother was a housewife. On my mom's side her dad, my grandfather, was a school teacher while her mom owned a bakery as a hobby and a job.

My dad's siblings, and him, were raised to be successful people in life. My Aunt Stephanie is probably my favorite aunt on my dad's side. She is just so down to Earth like my dad, and she's just an all around nice person. She lives in Paris, but is flying to Ohio just to us.

After driving around the parking lot for 10 minutes, we were finally able to get a spot. The mall was crowded, but at the same time it wasn't crowded. We walked through the doors and before Luke could do anything, Gala and I took off on our own leaving him with the kids.

We ran around the mall going into stores and looking for items our families may like. Gala said it would be a good idea to buy our moms jewelry and our dads some wallets that weren't very expensive. Instead of buying my dad a wallet I bought him a mug that says, " World's Best Kid" I got Valeria a Barbie Doll and a video game for Frankie.

After shopping for family, we just walked around looking into stores and buying small stuff with our remaining money. Just like Amber, Gala ran into the pet store like a little kid. I walked in after her and looked at the dogs and cats. They were still all so cute and adorable.

" We should get one," Gala suggested.

" My parents would kill me if I brought a dog or cat home. They said we might get a new one soon, but not for a while. Maybe I could sneak in a rabbit?" I stroked the rabbits in the box. I ended up buying a few new toys and bones for Cody as a Christmas gift.

On our way out of the store, I bumped in the Heffley family. At the sight of Rodrick, Gala started looking at him and me uncontrollably. With every look she made a face.

" Hi Mrs. Heffley," I tried to seem happy to see them.

" Hello Emma. Who is this?" She gestured to my cousin.

" That's my cousin Gala. Her family came down for Christmas yesterday." Gala shook everyone's hand.

" I was here for Halloween too."

" I'm sorry, but we are in kind of a hurry with Christmas shopping and all. Tell your parents I said hi." I said goodbye and they left.

" Why didn't you kiss your boyfriend?" I kicked her lightly.

" Rodrick's not my boyfriend you crazy child." I walked off in the other direction as the Heffleys.

" Then who is?" she called after me.

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><p>Rodrick Pov.<p>

It's really annoying when I run into Emma at the must unconventional moments. I turned around to find that she had already left. I looked towards the pet store. Dogs there were just so expensive, and breeders were expensive as well. I didn't have that much money, and my parents wouldn't give me money to buy a dog.

What I hate most is that I have to go on this family outing. I rather be sleeping, eating, going on the Internet, or listening to music than be here Christmas shopping for peoples other than me. It was stupid. My parents can Christmas shop for my uncle's family by themselves. Why drag me along?

" I'm going to go to the bathroom," I told my parent's who weren't even listening to me. They were to busy caught up in Manny. I walked away sluggishly towards the exit. I needed to get out of this atmosphere of happy-go-lucky Christmas shoppers.

As I walked down the street, snow started to fall down from the sky. Pulling the hood of my jacket over my head and putting my headphones in my ear, I continued down the ice slick street. Stores were decked out in Christmas lights and advertisements. I stopped for a second and looked back at the way I came. I didn't know I had walked so far. My parent's still probably didn't realize I had left.

Not wanting to take too much time up, I took a little shortcut back to the mall. The alley was dark and smelled worse than my room. While passing by one of the dumpsters, I heard a faint bark. Was this the answer to my problem? I looked back, but didn't see any boxes where a dog could possibly be in. Making sure, I walked over and started to whistle.

Once again, what sounded like a little dog or puppy, the barking started. I've never been more determined to find something in my life. I pushed garbage and junk aside, but couldn't find where the barking was coming from. I took a few steps back, until realizing it was coming from inside the dumpster.

" The things I do for this girl," I told myself. Maybe I might get something out of this. Supporting myself on a trashcan and boxes, I peered into the pile of garbage. There was a little dog, I couldn't tell if it was a puppy or not, jumping around in the trash. This will just have to do. In an attempt to lure the dog over, I managed to fall into the container. Mom was not going to be happy.

**And I think I'm going to end this chapter here. I wanted it to be longer, but since of the lack of update I figured 'why not?'. Please leave a review, favorite, and follow my story. Thank you.**


	29. Feliz Navidad

**I was thinking about waiting till Christmas to do this, but then I thought I shouldn't.**

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><p>Christmas morning.<p>

It's a joyous day where you are literally pulled out from under your blanket and onto the hard floor by your younger cousins who aren't even suppose to be in your room.

They then proceed to jump up and down on your bed while screaming the phrase, " EMMA IT"S CHRISTMAS! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! SANTA CAME!" for the longest time before exiting your room. Fun times, no? Gala, crawling on the floor, came around from the other side of the bed.

" This is why Christmas comes only _once_ ever year."

I got up from the floor and walked down stairs with her. The same cousins that had pulled Gala and me out of bed were now running around the house while others were watching _Jingle All the Way_ in the living room. In the kitchen my mom, her three sisters, my aunts, and my dad's sister with her daughter, Brianna were making breakfast.

" Merry Christmas girls. Glad to see you're finally awake," Aunt Laura greeted us with a cheery face. When my aunts turned back to what they were doing, Brianna glared at me. Gala flipped her off, and in the funniest way possible, she turned to her mother sputtering words about how rude Gala was being. We left in a hurry. My cousins on my dad's side and my mom's side do not get along well at all. Neither do the adults, but that's a different story.

After about thirty minutes of waiting around, breakfast was served. The adults ate at the dinning room table while us kids ate in the living room. Older kids commanded the couch and the younger ones took the floor. Someone had changed the movie to _National Lampoon's: Christmas Vacation._ It was at the part where the guy, Clark, receives his 'bonus check', but it's not really what he expected. My younger cousins started to crack up as he ranted about his boss. True, it was funny, but I've seen this too many times to 'ROFL'.

" Who's ready to open gifts?" Aunt Marie chimed. Everyone gathered around my family's Christmas tree, and presents were distributed by name. My cousins on my dad's side were clearly spoiled by their parents. Their gifts were elaborate and unnecessary, in my opinion. Of course their gifts to us were equally the same, elaborate and gaudy. I didn't care, though. Free is free, am I right? *******Insert winky face emoji*******

I received gift cards to my favorite stores, a new camera, an iPod from mom and dad since Frankie broke my old one, a box of blonde hair dye from my Aunt Laura (she prefers my blonde hair over the red), and my favorite gift: a new phone. Luke received a new baseball bat (season is going to start soon), a pair of Beats headphones, and also a new phone.

My younger cousins started to play with their new toys, and surprisingly Brianna started talking to Gala and I. She wanted to try out the hair dye I got as a gift from her mom. I didn't really want to, but everyone was staring at us, so I just agreed. The three of us headed to my parent's bathroom since it was larger than the others. I got towels; Brianna poured the dye into a bowl, while Gala looked for clips.

When I came back, I set the towels on the floor of the bathroom and on the counter. I washed my hair in sink to rinse some of the color out. We separated my hair into sections, and then Brianna applied the dye to my hair while Gala 'danced' to music that played from Pandora.

" It should be easy since a lot of the dye is out," Brianna said during one point. After what seemed like forever, I got to see my blonde hair. The only problem was that my hair wasn't blonde. It was _pink_. **PINK!** What the hell? I looked over at Brianna who was trying to stifle her laughter, but ended up cracking up. Side note: Her laugh is retarded.

" The look on your face is hilarious," she giggled. I mean, it didn't look _that_ bad. It wasn't like it was some hot pink color. Just a nice normal light-ish pink color. Brianna must have switched the hair dye while we were out of the room. It didn't matter to me.

" Emma, Gala, Brianna, come down stairs. There are some more gifts that haven't been opened, " Aunt Clara called for us. Brianna sighed, fixed her blouse, and then walked out of the room ahead of us.

" No matter how funny she thinks this is, jokes on her. You look sexy with pink hair, " Gala purred. To be honest, half of me actually wanted to have blonde hair again, but the other half liked this color. I'll just wait for it to fade out. My roots will come out soon.

Since Frankie and Valeria weren't really 'blood related' to my family. My aunts and uncles, even grandmother and grandfather, on both sides of the family were trying to get them to pick who was 'da best'.

Much to my parent's disapproval, Aunt Clara's family went out and bought us a pet cat, after previously talking to Valeria on what her favorite pet is. Lucky for mom and dad, a cat was Valeria's second choice after pony. Uncle Maverick's family bought us a new dog. Surprise, surprise, our parent's got us a puppy for Christmas. So that puts my family at: 3 dogs, 1 cat, 6 people, and 1 raccoon that keep going through or garbage. (Luke, Frankie, Valeria, and I decided to name him Kimber. No questions please.)

Well, isn't this just a cluster fuck? Our doorbell rang, but that didn't interrupt the adults' arguments for even a second. I was the only one who probably heard it ring. I got up from the floor and answered the door. Rodrick stood on the other side. He eyed me up and down then that stupid ass smirk of his appeared on his face.

" The fuck are you wearing? And what happened to your hair?" Rodrick referred to my Hello Kitty pajamas that I've been wearing all morning.

" It's called clothes and it's none of your business," I replied bitterly.

" You look awful."

" Look, if you only came here to make fun on me then screw you," I tried to close the door, but he stopped me halfway.

" Sorry, ok? I just wanted to give you your Christmas present. That's all."

" Alright, what is it?"

" It's in my van. You're going to have to come with me to get it," he pointed back to his car that was parked along my sidewalk. I sighed deeply, closed the door, and slipped on my shoes and a jacket.

" I'll be back in a bit. Rodrick wants to show me something," I called to my parents. No one, of course, heard me say this. When I came outside, Rodrick was sitting patiently on my porch. He stood up, and we started to walk over to his car. He opened the back doors and motioned for me to go inside. This better be good.

Once inside, he closed the doors behind us. I started to become uncomfortable while sitting on the floor. From a box, he pulled out a small dog. As he held the, what I think was a puppy, in his arm, Rodrick had a smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile, but also at the same time I knew I was going to get my ass kick for this by my parents.

" Oh my God, she is adorable." I scrambled over to where Rodrick was.

" It's a he."

" No, it's a she."

" Fine, is you want a transgender dog then-"

" Did you even check?" there was silence, " That's what I thought." I lay down on my back as I played with her. She was just too adorable to say no.

I couldn't tell what type of dog this could be, unlike the purebred/recognizable ones my parents and uncle got for us. Our parents got us a little French bulldog, while our uncle got us something with a little more protection. His 'friend's' female husky gave birth to a husky/Doberman mix. The dog had the markings of a Doberman, but the eyes and standup ears of a husky. But this dog was just unrecognizable.

It looked like a cocker spaniel mixed with a dachshund or some type of long bodied dog. Except that it's tail was curled like an Akita. It was fairly tall despite it's long body. I doubt it would grow any bigger. Its coat was hard to explain. It was like golden like a retriever, but a bit darker. It also hard white marking that went from its chest and spread to the inside of the legs and stomach.

" What's her name? I asked as she bit at my hand with her sharp teeth.

" Doesn't have one. I wanted you to decide." After dog-with-no-name calmed down, I found myself cuddling close to Rodrick. He had his arm around me while I stroked the dog's coat.

" Thank you," I whispered. He kissed the top of my head, and I started to feel uncomfortable again. I was with Jasper and he was with Paisley. I hate him and he hates me. This was just a…it was a…well; it's a sorry-your-dog-died present.

" I should get going. My parent's are going to kill me when they see her." He reached for my hand.

" Why?" It surprised me that he wanted to know.

" My aunt got my family a cat, my uncle got my family a dog, and my parents got us a puppy. You're the plot twist." I held the dog up. Rodrick chuckled.

" I'm sorry. I just wanted to get you a better present than Jasper. By the way, what did he get you?"

" He went back to England for Christmas. I think he said something about Skyping me…oh shit; I was suppose to Skype him. Thanks for the present, but I have to go." Rodrick held the door open for me. I got out and tried to run to my door, but ended up slipping on the slick sidewalk. If Rodrick weren't behind me, no name dog and I would have fallen down.

" Thanks again," I said.

" Don't mention it." I took a few more steps before turning around and looking back at him. Without thinking, I put no name down and ran up to Rodrick, wrapping my arms around his tall frame. When I didn't feel him hug me back, I backed off. The cold weather brought out the blush in his face.

" Sorry," I said quickly. If Rodrick's blush was somewhat showing on his face then my blush must be lighting up my face. Once again, I turned around and walk up to my door, grabbing the dog on my way there. I shut the door behind me and sank to the floor. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

" Who's that?" I heard Brianna's voice. She and Gala were both standing by the window, looking outside.

" What are you doing?"

" Nothing, just spying on you and your boyfriend," she chimed. My blush came back.

" Sooo, did he give you your 'Christmas present'?" Gala asked. I knew what she was hinting at. I shook my head.

" Yep, I certainly got the D," I joked. I was able to get their attention away from the window.

Brianna screamed at the top of her lungs, " HE GAVE YOU THE D?" In the background, you could hear a glass break on impact with the floor.

" HE GAVE YOU THE WHAT?" My aunt screamed from the kitchen (?) in response to what Brianna had just announced. Yep, Merry Fucking Christmas you guys.

* * *

><p>I had to explain to everyone that by 'D', I meant dog. After a long talk and two phone calls to Mrs. Heffley, my parents were able to get the full story on why their son gave a dog to me. My parents finally let me go to my room. I took my dog (they had deemed the dog mine, and therefore I was the most responsible for the dog) up to my room with me.<p>

Logging into Skype, I could see that I had missed 5 calls from Jasper. I felt so bad. I called him two times, and on the third he picked up.

" Merry Christmas from England!" he shouted. I laughed. Him and another person sitting next to him had those ridiculous part hats on. " How are you, Love?"

" I'm great. How's Christmas for you?"

" Extraordinary! I missed my family and friends so much. Oh, Emma, this is Steven, my best friend. He's like a male Amber, almost," they both laughed and so did I. After a while of chatting, Steven left at the request of Jasper.

" What's that in your lap? Is it a stuffed animal?"

" No, it's a dog."

" You got a dog for Christmas? How cool is that?" I giggled, and then explained the whole story to him. He laughed at the part with my family, but stopped when told him about Rodrick.

" So he went out and bought you a dog?"

" No, no he found her on the streets. To be honest, I'm happy he got her. She might have died if he hadn't."

" Yeah, but who gets someone a dog for Christmas?"

" My family and a lot of kids who want puppies for Christmas. It's very common."

" I think it's stupid. Doesn't he know that your family has to pay for that dog now? If any thing, it's inconsiderate." Jasper was showing his jealous side, and I didn't like it.

"Well, it's my present not yours. At least he got me something…" There was that awkward silence of Skype again.

" Hey, I'm sorry. I wish I were there to be with you. Maybe when I come back, we can do something for New Year's. I heard someone was throwing a party." I smiled.

" That would be nice."

" I should be going now. See you in a few days."

" See you," I hung up first. I looked at dog with no name, " I think we should give you a name soon. Also, your brother and sisters need names too."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you to all of the new favorites and follows! I really appreciate it. Also, don't forget to review. <strong>


	30. Heartbreak Can Be A Good Thing

Turns out, 3 dogs and 1 cat is too much for my parents to handle at the moment. The dog Uncle Maverick's family had given us is now going to a friend of his that lives down a few blocks from his house. Uncle Maverick was ok with it, in front of everyone. But the night of Christmas, Luke and I heard him arguing with my parents about why they couldn't kick the cat out instead.

As much as they wanted to get rid of the cat, it would be 'impolite'. Not like Aunt Clara's family wasn't being total dicks to us the whole time they were here. But hey, who's complaining? Oh yeah, Uncle Maverick is.

A week later, after most of my family except Gala had left, my mom drove me to the airport to see Jasper. We hugged and kissed, in front of his parents and my mom. It was New Year's Eve, and someone from school was throwing this big party. It was only going to be sophomores and juniors there, I had heard. We made arrangements for Jasper to come over to my house and get ready for the party there, and then Gala, Jasper and I would go together.

This party wasn't really like a winter formal, but more like one of those big New Year's Eve parties people throw sometimes. It seemed fun, and a good opportunity to catch up with Jasper. It would have been a good opportunity to catch up with him if he only would have agreed to come home with us. That was only the start of my disastrous evening.

Just like the Halloween party, I found myself standing alone with a drink in hand. Gala comes to me with a guy trailing behind her in a 2014 part hat. I take a quick sip of my drink to prepare for what she will say.

" Ey Em, tis Jordan. Lik supercool and laugh. Upstairs, " She tells me then leaves.

" Remember protection," I call out to her, but I doubt she could hear me over the sound of the music. Someone bumps into me; it's cheerful Paisley, her brother and some girl, and Rodrick. No one says a word, and it starts to become awkward until Jasper shows up. A feeling of relief washes over me. Now I'm not dateless anymore.

" This music is my jam," he says as I wrap my arms around his waist.

" Wait 'till you hear my band play. It's going to knock your socks off," Rodrick replies.

" The only thing your band's music is good for is making people leave. That's why you're the last act of the night," I say. They, including Rodrick, laugh. I really wanted that to be an insult, not a joke.

" You know you love it." Rodrick winks at me. I seem to have been the only one to notice. The night goes on how it should. Partying, drinking, eating, and dancing. It could have been perfect if Jasper didn't fuck up. When alcohol goes in, the truth will come out.

We were all sitting down outside playing a game of truth. Basically, you sit in a circle and everyone says one dirty secret of his or hers out loud. The game has no real goal or prize at the end. It's more of a game you may play during a retreat, or how some counselors may put it 'honest hour'. Now the hard part of this game is that you never know if the person is lying, being serious, or exaggerating the truth with their secrets.

" I ate a worm in the 1st grade."

" I stopped wearing diapers when I was 5."

" I accidentally stepped on my hamster, and then told my parents it got loose."

" I've never had sex."

" My hair isn't naturally this color."

The more you play, the dirtier the secrets.

" I thought I was pregnant in the 8th grade."

" I stole money from my ex-boyfriend."

" I killed a dog with my car."

" I've cheated on 3 tests during freshmen year."

" I cheated on my girlfriend with my ex during Christmas vacation."

. . . . . .

" What?" I asked turning towards Jasper.

" I cheated on you, but my reason is legitimate."

This was also another danger of playing this game; people will get hurt. I got up to go 'use' the bathroom. What should have been 5 minutes ended up turning into the whole night. At one point, Paisley came by and stood outside the door.

" Happy New Year Emma," she cooed from the other side of the door, " Rodrick's band is about ready to play, do you want to go and watch with me?" I didn't answer. I don't know if she left or not, it didn't matter to me. I'm not sure if it would make me feel better or worse if Jasper had come to talk to me.

The weird thing was that wasn't crying, like some girls would. I was just…sad, I guess. Sad and confused and maybe a bit heartbroken. I wanted to hit, or break something. The most I got from causing destruction was pouring out the rest of the mouthwash that was in the medicine cabinet. Then Rodrick showed up. I opened the door for only one reason, and one reason only. I punched him in the stomach, causing him to back up. The one reason I opened the door now turned into a million reasons.

I screamed into his chest as he held me. The music and my screams went along with each other. Through my whole fit, Rodrick didn't say a word till I was done. We both were now sitting along the hallway wall.

" If it makes you feel any better, I threw one of my drumsticks at him when I saw him talking to another girl," he nudged me. I couldn't help but smile. " No matter how annoying you are at times, I will always be there for you."

" No, stop," I blushed.

" As a friend."

" So you're like my new older brother?" He nodded his head. And with a hug sealed our newfound friendship. What could go wrong?

**I know that this chapter is a bit crappy (at least I think it is) but I'm going to end the book here, only because I want to start fresh. And also school work and my laptop is going through a phase. The first chapter of the next book will fill you in on what happened From January to the last day of school. It might take a few weeks (months?) before I release anything. Thanks, and keep a look out for something new. **


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